Lylat Wars
by Mike Sullivan
Summary: When young Fox McCloud recieves ROB 64, an android carrying secret data for the Cornerian rebellion against the Andross Empire, he is suddenly thrust into a wild and epic adventure across the Lylat System. Based on the original "Star Wars". Please review!
1. ROB's Mission

_Author's Note:_ Hello, and thank you for clicking on this story. I do not own Star Fox or any of the game characters featured in this story. Please review, but don't go too hard on me, this is my first fanfiction.

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Lylat Wars

From a distance, it would have appeared to be a shining topaz laying on a vast blanket of black cloth, with tiny pinpoints of light speckling the background. If observed closer, it would have appeared as it was– a large, semi-arid planet floating in the seemingly endless sea of celestial objects that made up the galaxy. This was Katina, one of the thirteen planets of the Lylat System.

Katina had long been subject to scrutiny by Cornerian scientists, who believed that the barren, desert planet could be eventually transformed into a thriving garden planet like its heavily populated sister planet, Corneria. However, plans for large-scale colonization on Katina had been aborted many years before under the circumstance that it was a low priority to the Andross Empire. They had much larger problems to attend to, such as the Cornerian Rebellion taking place throughout Lylat.

In fact, at that very moment a giant ship from the Venomian fleet was in hot pursuit of a tiny Cornerian space cruiser.

Slowly, two long, metal tubes running across the underside of the Venomian starship began to glow with a red light. In a brilliant flash, two laser blasts fired out of the tubes, searing through space. One of the shots missed, but the second collided with the Cornerian space cruiser, shaking the ship violently and burning an asteroid-sized hole in the hull.

Inside, a lanky android by the name of ROB 64 stumbled in a corridor as the ship rocked, almost crashing into three Cornerian rebels who rushed by, blasters in their hands.

"Whoops. Pardon me. Excuse me. I am sorry," the robot said in a monotonous, metallic voice. He tilted his head up at the metal ceiling, his red optical-receptors scanning the heat of the burns in the hull. ROB would have grimaced if his stiff features allowed him to do so. "Two hundred and seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit. This is not good," he whispered to himself, static rushing through the speaker on his face as he did so.

He looked back down the corridor and continued walking forward, trying as hard as he could not to be tipped over by more Cornerian rebels– or stopped because of any suspicion. ROB had to get to the maintenance corridors deep inside the cruiser at all costs. It was requested of him in an urgent radio transmission from a vixen named Krystal, who had joined the Cornerian rebels after her home planet of Cerinia had been destroyed by the Andross Empire.

ROB took two steps forward, then was thrown off his feet by another massive explosion in the underbelly of the ship. The Cornerian cruiser slowly came to a stop, its blown engine thruster crackling and hissing. The Venomian fleet ship loomed over it, then slowly descended.

ROB picked himself up and began hurrying down the corridors again, nearly running by now. He stopped momentarily and cocked his rectangular head, listening to a low _snap-hiss_ coming from outside the ship. "We will be boarded," he murmured quietly to himself.

He continued shuffling down the long corridor until he at last came to a second doorway. He reached towards the access panel on the wall beside it and inserted his index finger into a small electric plug below the numbered buttons. The small computer scanned the data contained on ROB's memory drive briefly before a message reading _ROB 64: Access Granted_ appeared on the digital screen on the control panel. The door hissed as the hydraulics holding it shut were released, and it quickly slid open.

ROB was about to enter the dark maintenance corridor when he heard a shout from down the main corridor. He swivelled his head about on his shoulders to see what was the matter. Further on down the corridor, almost a dozen Cornerian rebel soldiers had pressed themselves flat against the walls, taking cover behind any small outcropping they could find. All of them had blasters primed and ready in their hands.

Suddenly there came a piercing, ear-splitting screech of metal grinding against metal. The Cornerian rebels winced, and ROB had to temporarily mute his sensitive audio-receptors so that they wouldn't be damaged.

Suddenly a panel in the ceiling exploded, sending shards of hot metal flying in all directions. A dark shape clad in red armor dropped through the smoke that began to pour into the corridor, gracefully rolling to find cover. It spun out of range of a rebel laser blast, then shifted its own blaster and returned fire.

ROB knew that no android ever built, even by a maniacal genius such as Andross, could maneuver itself so quickly and efficiently. This was one of the Andross Empire's elite shock troops, trained to perfection on the planet of Venom.

The troop poked his head out of cover for a split second, peering through the smoke at the Cornerian rebels. That split second was just enough to kill him, as a laser blast seared through the monkey soldiers face, reducing his head to a mass of burnt hair and melted flesh.

ROB hurried into the maintenance corridor, dodging a laser from yet another shock troop that had dropped from the hole in the ceiling. He rushed into the darkness, leaving the explosions, shouts, and screams of agony behind him.

Suddenly a small, slender hand was placed on ROBs shoulder. He turned around to see Krystal the vixen, a dismayed look on her face.

"I requested the captain to come to Katina for a reason," she whispered in a hushed tone. "I have a message for someone on the planet. I know you're one of the most advanced androids on board, and I need you to deliver it for me," she continued.

ROB nodded. "I will do whatever you ask, mistress Krystal," he declared rather loudly.

Krystal held a finger over her lips to quiet him. She looked back at the main corridor, where the screams were beginning to subside. Cornerian rebels ran past the open doorway, some carrying comrades, some wounded, and some crawling away futilely.

Krystal looked back at ROB. "Good. Now here is what I want you to do..."

The rebels were fleeing. The shock troops didn't chase them, however. The rebels' demise would come quickly enough. Another troop dropped from the forced entryway in the ceiling, murmuring things to his comrades. They all looked at each other uncertainly for a moment, then rushed to the walls, standing at attention.

Above them, loud footsteps could be heard walking across the hull. Then, a large, black figure dropped from the hole, landing heavily but steadily in the corridor. A nervous shock troop stepped forward and pushed a dead body out of the way of the new figure.

Six feet in height, he towered over most other figures. Clad in dark, steel armor and an air-locked, full-face helmet over his head, looked more like an android than a living creature. This was the right-hand servant of Emperor Andross himself, known only to anyone in the Lylat system as Cain.

He strode forward, looking down at a Cornerian rebel with a hole burnt in his stomach. He clutched the bloody wound, shaking and gasping for breath. Cain raised his boot, then slowly brought it down, placing his heel on the side of the rebels neck. With one quick movement, Cain pressed his foot down. There a low _crunch_ of breaking bones, and the Cornerian rebel fell limply to the floor.

One of the shock troops, the apparent leader by the blue "A" shaped symbol on his armor, stepped forward.

"What are your orders, sir?" the troops asked.

Cain looked around at the carnage, peering through the glowing, red visor of his helmet. "Find the telepath. Don't harm her, bring her to me. If our source was correct, she was the mastermind of the theft," he said, his voice hissing like ice cold venom through a voice amplifier in his helmet.

"Sir, she could be anywhere on board–"

"Then double the amount of troops searching the ship. I want her _found_, even if you have to rip every metal plate out of this ship to do it," Cain snarled. Then he turned back to the shock troop leading the search. "Oh, and bring me the captain, too. I want a word with him," he said.

On the command bridge of the Venomian fleet ship, one of the men, a nervous looking lizard, frowned at the monitor he was watching.

"Sir," he called to the captain.

"What is it?" the grizzled old captain asked, walking briskly to the computer monitor and leaning forward.

"One of the evacuation pods on the Cornerian cruiser jettisoned a few moments ago, but our scanners indicated that no signs of life were present inside," the lizard said. "Should I order it to be shot down?"

The captain squinted at the point of light on the monitor as it moved steadily towards Katina. "No," he said at last. "Probably just a malfunction on that old cruiser. Don't waste our power core. We've used enough energy getting those damned rebels to stop."

Inside the evacuation pod, ROB 64 sat cross-legged, humming to himself contentedly while he waited to land on Katina.


	2. The Capture of Krystal

The landing on Katina was not very pleasant for ROB. No matter how hard he attempted to steady the spiraling evacuation pod, he was no good at manually piloting a spacecraft. If the pod had a jack that ROB could have plugged himself into he may have been able to control it, but it didn't, and he couldn't.

He was, however, able to slow the pod down enough so that the landing gear didn't crumple like paper when the pod collided with the dry ground.

After collecting his wits and making sure that he hadn't lost any parts from the uneasy landing, ROB exited the evacuation pod, aimed his sensors skyward, and began to scan for the closest signs of life. To the robot's surprise, there was in fact a small area with what seemed to be intelligent life just nearby.

Turning directly West, ROB began to march across the sand towards the signs of life. It was late in the afternoon by the time ROB finally reached a tiny, merchant campsite, and his reflective metal plating was scorching hot from the heat it had absorbed.

Without hesitation, ROB walked straight up to one of the merchants at the camp, a stocky female boar.

"Hello. I am ROB 64–"

"Now where did you come from?" interrupted the boar. "There isn't a town or an imperial base around here for miles. You couldn't have walked all the way from there!" she cried.

"No, I did not," said ROB. "I have come from an evacuation pod jettisoned from a Cornerian cruiser..." ROB continued talking, even when the boar turned and began to call the other merchants at the camp over.

"Hey! Hey, everyone! Some robot walked out of the desert just now. He's shiny, and looks pretty new to me. What do you think?" she called to the other three merchants at the camp. Two of them were boars, the other was a burly armadillo.

"...and have been sent to find him and bring him an urgent message. Do you know where I could find him?" asked ROB.

The boar blinked. "What kind of a robot did you say you were again?" she asked, looking at him as though he were a delicious vegetable meal served to imperial officers at bases of the Andross Empire on Katina.

"I am ROB 64, maintenance and starship control android built on Corneria nearly seven years ago–" ROB was cut off once again by the other merchants.

"Well the starship control part people won't have a use for, but the maintenance part could get us something," said the armadillo, frowning at ROB.

"I beg your pardon?" asked ROB.

The male boar stepped forward and smiled at ROB, unintentionally baring his large tusks. "Don't worry, buddy. We'll get you a home and a good owner, we promise," he said.

ROB looked at him, confused. "But I have no need for a home," he said monotonously. "It is urgent that I reach the man I have told you about the fate of the Cornerian rebellion..." he trailed off as the boar flipped a switch on the back of ROBs neck, powering him down.

The four merchants stared at the motionless ROB for a few moments.

"Hope he doesn't have something wrong with his head the way he goes on about some rebellion like that," said the third boar.

***

Cain stared coldly at the captain of the Cornerian cruiser, whom he was gripping tightly by the throat. "I'm only going to ask you once more," said the armored villain. "_Where are the plans_?"

The captain, a cream colored cat, grasped futilely at Cains wrist, wheezing and gasping for air. "I don't know what you're talking about. We were about to land on Katina and make contact with an imperial base," he choked out.

"The _plans_! The ones that you _stole_ from our space station in the eastern region of the Lylat System! Tell me where they are, _now!_" roared Cain furiously, tightening his grip on the captains throat.

The captain refused to answer. Furiously, Cain slammed the captain against the wall by the throat, smashing the back of his head open. Cain let go of the dead cat and let him drop to the floor, leaving a bloody smear against the wall.

"I want the telepath and the plans found! If it takes the entire day, week, or even a month, this ship will be searched from top to bottom! Do you understand?" Cain roared, whirling around to face the imperial shock troops.

With nods and murmurs of confirmation, the troops split up and began to search. Occasional resistance occurred, but was quickly silenced by the elite shock troops.

One of the groups, a team of four apes, found the open entryway to the maintenance corridors that ROB had used mere hours ago. They split up, searching through the darkness with their eyes screwed for any signs of survivors, or anyone fitting the description of the telepathic vixen they were to find.

One of the troops rounded a corner, his blaster at the ready. He found himself face-to-face with Krystal, the blue, telepathic vixen. She held in her hands a long, blue staff, pointing one of the ends of it at the shock troop.

The ape lowered his blaster and raised a hand in a sign of peace. "Miss, I'm not here to harm you. I was sent to find you and take you–" he was never able to finish his sentence. A blast of red flames fired from the end of the staff, reducing the troops head to a mass of melted flesh and bone.

Hearing the blast, the other three troops rushed to their fallen comrade, setting their blasters for their low "stun" setting. When they arrived, they first saw their dead ally, then Krystal turn and begin to flee.

One troops raised his blaster and fired a blue beam of energy into Krystals back. The vixen stumbled, staggered, then dropped her staff and collapsed.

"It's okay, it's okay. I had my blaster set for stun," said the troop that had fired, holding up a hand. "Come on, let's get her secured before she wakes up. Better take that staff of hers to Lord Cain as well," he said.

Five minutes later, the three troops were marching a fully awake, stoic looking Krystal down the main corridor, heading towards Cain.

"Well, what have we here? The last survivor of Cerinia. It's a pleasure to have your acquaintance," Cain said mockingly.

Krystal glared at him venomously as the shock troops handed Cain her staff. "Invading a diplomatic cruiser without warrant is a crime, Lord Cain," she said calmly. "I see Emperor Andross is becoming braver and braver against the imperial senate."

Cain grinned behind his helmet. "Oh, you didn't know? The imperial senate has been dissolved, Krystal. Emperor Andross has complete and total power over the Lylat System," he said. "As for you 'diplomatic business', you don't need to lie. We know that it's a complete farce, and we know of your little plot to get those plans."

Krystal looked indignant. "I don't know what you're talking about," she said.

"Lying. I don't think you can help yourself, can you? I will give you this one chance: where are the plans that you stole from our station in Sector X?" asked Cain, his voice becoming an angry sneer.

"You're deluding yourself. I have no choice but to be loyal to the Andross Empire, despite what you have done to my home and its residents," said Krystal innocently.

Cain stared at her for a long moment. "You should have taken my chance, traitor. Take her away!" Cain barked at the three shock troops holding her.

As the troops marched Krystal away, the officer with the blue "A" symbol on his breastplate approached Cain.

"Sir, an evacuation pod was jettisoned from this ship very recently, although no life was detected onboard. Some insisted that it was a malfunction, but I thought that it should be brought to your attention just in case," he said, grinning pridefully.

Cain turned back to look at Krystal just before she disappeared in the sea of imperial shock troops. "She hid the plans in the pod," he said. He whirled about to face the officer. "I want every troop we can spare mobilized and ready to search Katina in an hour. The plans are down there. I know it," he said.

"Yessir, right away," said the officer, hurrying back into the crowd of troops.

Cain strode over to one of the thick, plate glass windows on the walls and peered down at Katina. "I have you now," he whispered to himself.

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_Author's Note:_ Well, I don't have much to say here except: please review!


	3. Fox McCloud

"Fox!" Michael McCloud shouted. He stood in the doorway of their small Katina homestead, looking out at the desert. "Fox!" he called again. The old fox sighed and turned inside to face his wife Angela, who was at the moment preparing dinner. "Do you know where Fox is, Ange?" he asked, frowning.

Angela shook her head. "No, I thought he was helping you harvest the mushrooms in the fields," she said to her husband.

"He was, but now I don't know where the kid is. Fox McCloud, I need you right now!" he called out the door again.

"What's the big rush? I thought the crops were growing well," Angela said.

"They are, they are. It's just that those merchants sent us a transmission a couple minutes ago, they say they have a maintenance android we might be able to use. I need him to help me set the thing up if we actually buy it," Michael said.

"Yeah? What's up?" called a voice from outside.

Michael rolled his eyes and stepped out of the hovel they called home, glaring at his young nephew. "Where were you, I've been calling for you for ten minutes!" he said, frowning.

Eighteen year old Fox McCloud just shrugged. "Sorry, I was picking up Slippy. I thought we could go for a spin in that old hovercraft I patched up last week," he said, gesturing towards the short, stout toad standing next to him.

"Hey there Mister McCloud!" Slippy Toad said cheerfully, waving at the older fox.

Michael waved back absent-mindedly. "Yeah, sorry Fox, but I just got a call from those merchants that live a few miles from here, they say they have a new worker android for us. I need you to help check it out," he said.

Fox blinked. "Aw, come on, Uncle Mike! You said that you'd let me take it out if you thought it was safe!" he said.

"Look, you can screw around with your friends tomorrow. Tonight I need you to clean up that robot," Michael said.

Fox sighed and looked sidelong at Slippy. The toad tried to be optimistic.

"Hey, I'm good with machines. I could stick around and help Fox clean the thing up," Slippy suggested to Michael.

Michael looked at Slippy for a moment, then shrugged. "Sure, why not? Just try not to cause too much trouble, alright you two?" he asked, frowning sternly at the two youths.

After halfheartedly agreeing, Fox and Slippy headed into the homestead garage, preparing the tools necessary to clean and brand a new robot. It was almost four in the afternoon by the time the merchants arrived, toting an extremely unwilling ROB 64 along with them.

"So this is it?" Michael asked the merchants after they had stood ROB on his feet. They had muted his vocal output to keep him from complaining and babbling about his "mission".

"Yep, this is it. Shiny new, ain't it?" the female boar asked, grinning.

Slippy looked ROB up and down, examining the laser singes peppering his steel plating. "Not exactly," he remarked softly.

"It's got strong limbs, clean components, and working parts. What more do you want?" asked the young merchant boar.

"I want to know what it can do. Android, do you speak English?" Michael asked.

"Eh, we turned his voice box off. He has a bit of a talking problem," said the armadillo.

Michael grimaced. "Well turn it back on, I want to talk to him," he said.

The armadillo flipped a switch on ROBs back, and immediately the androids jaw seemed to unlock.

"Yes, I can speak English. I am ROB 64, maintenance and starship control android. I have been sent by Krystal the vixen to find–" poor ROB could never finish his sentence, for the armadillo flipped his voice box back off at that moment.

"There, he talks. All good?" he asked.

Michael seemed a bit skeptical, but he shrugged. "Sure, why not. He's had experience before. So that was four hundred credits, right?" he asked.

"Four-fifty, actually. We just found out he can control starships," said the female boar.

"What? Why the hell would I ever need him to pilot a starship?" Michael snorted.

"That's our offer, take it or leave it," said the male boar.

Michael sighed and reached into the pocket of his trousers. "Fine. Four-fifty, here you go. Fox, Slippy, go polish that thing up, looks like its's been through hell and back," he said.

Fox nodded and motioned for ROB to follow him to the garage. "Alright, come on. I don't know where you've been, but you look terrible," he observed.

Slippy and Fox polished and oiled the android for hours, mostly spent talking to each other about what they wanted to do if they ever got off Katina. At length ROB motioned towards the mouth-like structure on his face, trying to get it across that he wished to speak.

"Oh, sorry. I forgot about that," said Fox, flipping the switch on ROBs back.

"I thank you for your act of kindness," said ROB.

"Yeah, it's no problem," said Fox, sitting in one of the ratty old chairs in the garage next to Slippy.

ROB looked around the garage. "Is this... my new home?" he asked.

Fox shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. You'll be helping me and my uncle grow and sell crops. The season's almost over now, but next year you'll be a big help," he said.

ROB examined the many models of starships and starfighters laying about the garage. "I see that you enjoy space flight, young master," said the robot.

Fox and Slippy looked at one another.

"Oh, yeah. We've both wanted to join the Cornerian Space Academy for a long time. For Fox here, it's been his lifelong dream," said Slippy, chuckling to himself.

"That is the Andross Empire, young master. They are evil," declared ROB.

Fox blinked. "Well hey, there aren't many other options, unless I were to join the Cornerian rebellion. My friend Bill Gray says he's doing that," he said.

"You should, young master. They are in dire need of good pilots," said ROB.

Fox laughed. "How would you know, your just a maintenance android? And you don't need to call me young master, just Fox will do," he said.

"Very well, young master Fox. I am ROB 64, maintenance and starship control android..." ROB said.

Fox blinked, wondering if the android was broken. "Uh, you've said that already," he said.

"... I have been sent to this planet by Krystal the vixen to find a man who lives here named Peppy Hare. Our Cornerian cruiser was boarded by a ship of the Venomian fleet earlier today, and miss Krystal gave me a message to send to that man," said ROB.

Both Fox and Slippy were astounded. "You mean you're actually part of the Cornerian rebellion?" cried Slippy in amazement. "Geez, no wonder you had all those laser burns on you!"

"Have you been in any battles?" asked Fox excitedly.

"Yes, several," replied ROB.

Fox blinked. "You had a message to send? Is it important?" he asked.

"Very, young master Fox. The fate of the war may rest in the fate of this message and the data that I carry," said ROB. "That is why I must reach Peppy Hare immediately."

Slippy frowned. "Peppy Hare? Isn't he that old crazy dude who lives a few miles west of here?" he asked.

"I thought so. My uncle warned me to stay away from him," said Fox.

No sooner had Fox said this did Michael call them from the homestead. "Fox, Slippy, it's getting late. If you want to eat something, come get it now!"

Fox and Slippy shrugged, then headed towards the door of the garage.

"What should I do, young master Fox?" asked ROB.

Fox looked at the shining android and shrugged. "Well you're all fine now, so I don't think we're coming back tonight. I guess you can just power down until tomorrow morning," he said.

ROB nodded. "I see," he said.

Fox and Slippy hurried from the garage to the warmth inside the homestead. Although daytime on Katina was incredibly hot, it was cold as death at night. The two friends sat down at the kitchen table, scooped their own food from a bowl in the center of the table, and began to eat.

Dinner with the McClouds was always relatively quiet. It was a time that Michael considered a "time for thinking".

After he was halfway done with his food, Fox looked up at his aunt and uncle. "You know," he said slowly, "I think that ROB android might have been stolen."

"Why do you say that?" asked Michael.

"He said he was originally part of the Cornerian rebellion against the Andross Empire. He says he was sent on some mission to find a guy named Peppy Hare. I thought he meant that guy who lived a ways west from here," said Fox.

"Forget it. It's memory must be bugged. We'll wipe it tomorrow," said Michael.

"He says it could be important–"

"I said forget it, Fox. I don't want you involved with the Cornerian rebellion, the Andross Empire, or some crazy rabbit," Michael said sternly. "As a matter of fact, you should try to wipe that thing's memory tonight. It'll save you time tomorrow."

"But that'll take hours!" Fox cried.

"You've got me," interjected Slippy softly.

Fox scowled. "I hate this place. Any time something exciting could happen, you get in the way," he muttered. Michael said nothing. Fox sat for a few more minutes, pushing his food around his plate. Then he got up and began to walk towards the door.

"Where are you going?" asked Angela.

"You heard what Uncle Mike said. I have to wipe that new robot's memory," sighed Fox. Slippy got up and hurried after him as he left.

Angela watched them go, then turned to Michael. "Mike," she said. "He's eighteen, almost a grown man. You can't protect him like this forever."

Michael looked at his wife. "I just don't want him to do anything stupid, that's all," he muttered.

Angela laughed. "Come on, Mike, he's impulsive by nature. He's just like his father was," she said.

Michael grimaced. "I know," he said. "That's what I'm afraid of."

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_Author's Note:_ Please review! The button is right there!


	4. The Search for ROB

Fox sighed, lifting his furry face to the evening sky. Beyond the purple and orange colors marking another day fading into night, he could see tiny points of light, brighter and larger than the surrounding stars. They were planets. To the far south he could see Fachina, gleaming coldly and brightly, and directly above him he could see Corneria, the massive blue planet of the Lylat System, rivaling Venom in diameter.

"Whatcha lookin' at, Fox?" asked Slippy from behind him. Fox turned to face his childhood friend, a disappointed look on his face.

"I just..." he said slowly. "I just want to see the stars. I've piloted loading ships at the imperial base before, I've had experience. I want to be like those rebel pilots, flying into dogfights and saving the day," he said wistfully.

Slippy gulped down the last of his supper. "I don't mean to sounds like I don't support you Fox, I do. And I'm ready to leave this dust ball just like all my brothers and sisters did. But you can't always get what you want," he said.

Fox frowned, looking back up at the stars. "No," he said. "I guess not."

The two young friends trudged through the sand to the garage, preparing themselves for the tedious and difficult job of wiping an android's memory. But when they arrived and turned the lights on in the garage, they found that ROB had disappeared.

Fox blinked in confusion. "ROB?" he called loudly.

Slippy waddled into the room, checking behind the covered hovercraft that Fox had repaired. "He isn't here!" the toad cried in alarm.

Fox frowned at a dark spot on the cracked cement floor. "Wait a minute, what's this?" he asked, hurrying over to it and kneeling down. On the floor, scrawled in large, black letters, was a message.

__

Young Master McCloud and your friend,

I apologize for leaving you and your family, you seem to be caring and friendly people. But I have been sent on a mission to find Peppy Hare, and I intend to fulfill the promise I made to Mistress Krystal. Goodbye.

P.S. I am sorry about wasting your engine grease to write this message, it was all I could find.

Fox was incredulous. He had never heard of, let alone seen such devotion in an android before. He wondered if the Cornerian rebellion must have upgraded his logic system to think like a living creature would, without endless numbers and statistics.

"Wow. We're dead," said Slippy grimly.

Fox put his face in his hands, groaning. "Ugh, stars! I knew I shouldn't have left him active!" he scolded himself. He stayed crouching by the message for a few moments, then stood up, grabbed a pair of binoculars from a shelf, and hurried outside. He raised the binoculars to his eyes and scanned the horizon, looking for any sign of a tall, thin android in the light of the setting sun.

"Damn! I don't see him anywhere," Fox muttered.

"We have to go looking for him, your uncle's going to be fuming!" Slippy cried.

Fox shook his head. "It's too dangerous at night. You want don't know how many Trychen are out after dark," he said. Despite popular belief in the Lylat System that Katina wasn't inhabited, its deserts were full of beasts of all sorts, including an ancient alien race known as the Trychen, the original intelligent inhabitants of Katina. Although small in size and seemingly mindless, Trychen were ruthless hunters and were incredibly dangerous in large numbers.

"Man, I'm going to get it for this," groaned Fox, lowering the binoculars.

Slippy suddenly hit Fox lightly in the shoulder, struck with an idea. "Hey, you and your uncle don't go out to the crop fields until noon, right? How about I stay here the night, and we can both go looking for that thing in the morning!" he suggested.

Fox blinked. "That could work," he said. "That hovercraft has a radar on it, we may be able to use it to find him. But let's go back in the garage and wait a few hours so my uncle thinks we're working," he said. They both turned and hurried back into the garage, anxious about the following morning.

***

Fox and Slippy set out earlier than either of them expected. After telling Angela that they were going out to test the hovercraft, they hurried away quickly before Michael woke up. Fox made sure to bring his uncle's antique bullet-firing hunting rifle with him just in case of any lingering Trychen.

The hovercraft was a bit more wobbly than they would have preferred and it lacked a windshield, but it was more than adequate for the short distance they were traveling. They headed west, where the supposed home of Peppy Hare lay, hoping to run into ROB on the way.

After a few miles speeding through the desert, a small blip appeared on the dusty old screen showing the engine heat and energy output from the vehicle. "Look, look! The radar picked something up! Might be our lost android," Slippy said excitedly.

Fox guided the craft over sand dunes, boulders, and roots of the large mushrooms growing from the soil until a small silhouette appeared in the distance. As they came closer both Fox and Slippy were able to make out the form of ROB 64.

Fox swerved the hovercraft in front of the android, coming to a full halt just meters away from him. "Woah, hey! Where did you think you were going?" he called to ROB, deactivating the hovercraft and hopping out onto the sand.

ROB only bowed his head in shame. "I am sorry, young master Fox. I was only trying to complete my mission for mistress Krystal. I had all intentions of returning to you once Peppy Hare had received my message and the data I carry," he said.

Fox just waved his hand in the air passively. "It's fine, just don't do it again. I'm just glad you didn't get hurt out here. But right now you have to come with us," he said, gesturing towards the hovercraft.

Slippy suddenly gave an alarmed cry from the passenger seat of the hovercraft. "Fox! The radar is picking up a bunch of... I, I don't know what they are, but there's lots of them!" he said.

Fox's eyes widened. "Trychen!" he hissed. "Slippy, get ROB into the hovercraft. I'm going to go see where they are. They could be trying to surround us," he said. As Slippy hopped out of the vehicle, Fox pushed the drivers seat forward, reached into the craft, and pulled his uncle's rifle out.

One advantage that the three of them had was that they were on a large plateau overlooking a wide plain. Fox realized that the Trychen could have seen ROB shuffling across the sand while he and Slippy approached.

Fox unhooked his binoculars from his belt, readied the rifle, and crawled to the edge of the plateau. He peered down at the sand dunes below with the binoculars, looking for any sign of life. He grimaced, seeing numerous footprints trampling the soft sand. "Well there's Trychen all right, and they're close. We should be careful getting back to the homestead," Fox called to Slippy over his shoulder. The toad was at that moment straining to pull ROBs left foot out from behind the passenger seat, where it had gotten stuck.

Fox turned back to the binoculars to look at the footprints again. But to his surprise the binoculars were dark. He frowned, adjusting the focus. Nothing seemed to help.

"Fox, look out!" screamed Slippy suddenly.

Fox lowered the binoculars and looked up. The binoculars hadn't been defective at all. They had just been pressed against the folds of a Trychens clothing as it stood in front of Fox.

Fox scrambled for his rifle, throwing the binoculars aside carelessly. He raised it, aimed briefly, and pulled the trigger. _Click_. Fox swore loudly, realizing that he had forgotten to flip the safety switch off.

The Trychen threw back its brown, wrinkled head and let out a bloodcurdling yell that almost sounded to Fox like a laugh. Then it raised a heavy wooden club in its hands and swung it downward.

Fox barely blocked the blow with his rifle, but his own weapon broke from the thunderous impact. The Trychen raised its club and swung it horizontally, clipping Fox in the side of the head as he rolled aside. It wasn't enough to break his skull, but it was just enough to knock him unconscious.

Three more Trychen rose from the side of the plateau and hurried towards the hovercraft. Slippy had disappeared, and ROB was shouting loud, monotonous protests as the three aliens pulled him out of the hovercraft and deposited him roughly on the ground, accidentally pulling his stuck foot out of its socket.

The three creatures began rummaging through the hovercraft, tearing at the already tattered seats and grunting to one another whenever they found anything of interest. Suddenly they all looked up, sniffing the air.

They looked down at the bottom of the plateau, and to each of their apparent horror, a short, dark shape was climbing up the face of the cliff. The three Trychen shrieked in horror and rushed down the opposite end of the plateau, their stolen treasures hidden in the folds of their clothes.

The dark shape continued slowly climbing the cliff until it reached the top. The dark, stocky figure surveyed the scene, looking first at the defiled hovercraft, then at the deactivated ROB, then at Fox's unconscious body.

The figure approached Fox, pulling its wide-brimmed hat down low to shade its eyes from the sun. It knelt down next to the unconscious youth, checking his pulse, then carefully examining a bloody scrape on the side of Fox's head.

Slippy Toad, who had hidden under the hovercraft, nervously poked his head out from the shadows. "H-Hello?" he called timidly to the figure.

The figure turned its head slowly towards the toad, then pulled off its hat to reveal an old rabbit with grey whiskers and half-moon spectacles. The rabbit smiled pleasantly at Slippy. "Hello there," he said. He gestured for Slippy to come closer. "Come on, you don't have to be afraid of me. You can come out," he said.

Slippy slowly crawled out from under the hovercraft, dusted himself off, then hurried over to Fox, who was beginning to come to.

Fox blinked up at the middle aged rabbit kneeling over him. "P-Peppy Hare?" he groaned, shielding his eyes from the sun.

The rabbit grinned. "That's me. What brings you two young men out to the middle of the Katina desert?" he asked.

Fox sat up, rubbing the scrape on the side of his head. He nodded towards ROB. "That android said that he had a message for you. He seemed pretty determined to find you. Claimed he was carrying data from the Cornerian rebellion to bring to you," he said.

Peppy frowned. "Really? I can't think of why an android would want to find me. I'm just an old man. Retired," he said. He glanced at Fox and Slippy, then at ROB. "You boys have been through an eventful day, but I fear the Trychen will come back. They never give up their prey easily. My home is less than a mile away, if you could accept the hospitality of an old hermit."

Fox and Slippy shrugged at each other. "I don't see why not, but we should fix ROB up," said Slippy.

Peppy nodded. "I see. I have plenty of tools at my home, we can fix him there," he said. Then he smiled at Fox. "And we might as well take a look at that message he says he's carrying too, eh?"


	5. Urgent Message

It was much more comfortable in Peppy's home than either Fox or Slippy had suspected. Fox reflected on how his uncle had told him to avoid "crazy old Peppy Hare", but to him Peppy didn't seem crazy at all. In fact, he was kind and soft-spoken, and his small, secluded hut was neat and tidy.

While Fox cleaned the scrape on the side of his head in Peppy's bathroom, Slippy took the old hare's toolchest and began reattaching ROBs injured foot. After loosely attaching ROBs foot to his ankle, he turned the android on.

"Oh! We come in peace, strange creatures, we mean you no harm!" cried ROB, not realizing that they were no longer threatened by the Trychen. He looked around briefly, then said, "Oh. Forgive me, I must have been reliving a frightening moment stored in my memory bank."

"That wasn't a dream, I'm afraid," said Peppy, sitting down next to Slippy as Fox emerged from the bathroom, dabbing lightly at his scrape with a towel.

ROB turned quickly, his red optical sensors glowing brightly. "Are you Peppy Hare, resident of Katina? The man I was sent to find?" he asked.

Peppy shrugged. "My name is Peppy Hare, and I live on Katina. I may be the one you were looking for," he said.

"Ah!" cried ROB. "Then I have message from you, sent from mistress Krystal the vixen, who hails from the late planet Cerinia." He turned to look at the small dining table in the center of the room. His eyes began to glow brightly, and soon a three-dimensional holographic image of a blue vixen fizzled into view. There was a brief burst of static, then the image and audio became clear.

"Hello, Captain Peppy Hare. I am Krystal, sole survivor of the destruction of planet Cerinia," began the holographic image of Krystal.

Fox blinked at the hologram and came closer, standing at the edge of the table to view it. "This... this is Krystal? The girl you've been talking about?" he asked ROB. The android didn't answer. Fox looked back at the hologram, studying the features of the vixen. "She's beautiful," he muttered under his breath.

"Years ago, you served the Cornerian Armed Services as a pilot in team Star Fox," continued the hologram to Peppy. "As you are the sole remaining member of the team, it is with great displeasure that I must ask of your help once again. Hidden within this android are the blueprints to the Venomian Defense Network, the Andross Empire's greatest defense mechanism created. If these plans reach the Cornerian base on the planet Fortuna, it may be possible to destroy the station, leaving the planet Venom open to our attacks. I beg that you help us in one of our darkest hours. Help me, Peppy Hare. You are our only hope," Krystal said pleadingly. The message ended, and an uneasy silence fell on Fox, Peppy, and Slippy.

Peppy sat in silence for a moment, his hand on his chin. Then he looked up at Fox and Slippy. "You two must come with me to Fortuna," he said softly.

Both Fox and Slippy gaped at Peppy. "_What?_" Slippy gasped.

Fox thought Peppy was joking at first. "Are you serious? I- I can't go on an adventure! I've got stuff to take care of here!" he cried.

Peppy sighed. "I'm sorry that I have to ask you, but I'm much too old for something like this. I'm not the pilot I once was, flying around the galaxy with Pigma and James," he said.

Fox blinked. "James?" he asked. "My father's name was..."

Peppy glanced at Fox. "Your father, yes," he said. "He was the leader of our group. Star Fox, we were called back in those days. Before these dark times. Before Andross rose to power."

Fox blinked. "But my father worked on one of the Cornerian military outposts, he was no star pilot," he laughed.

"That's just what your uncle told you, Fox," Peppy said, smiling slightly. He sighed, seeming to be reminiscing. "He was the best star pilot I ever knew. I'd even go as far to say he was the best in the entire Lylat System. And... he was my best friend," he said.

Fox stared at Peppy, curious. "Well, what happened to him? Why did he leave me here on Katina?" he asked.

"He didn't leave you here, son, I brought you here. With your father and mother both gone, your aunt and uncle were the only relatives you had. I've been watching over you ever since you were a baby," Peppy said. Then he frowned. "Years ago, just before Andross rose to power, General Pepper of the Cornerian Army detected strange activity coming from the planet Venom, where Andross had been exiled after planning a rebellion of his own. James, me, and our third wingmate, Pigma Dengar, were sent to investigate, but it was a trap. Pigma betrayed us, James was captured, and I barely managed to escape," he said.

Slippy, who was finishing tightening ROBs ankle joint, looked up at Peppy. "So... he's still alive then? A prisoner?" he asked.

Peppy shook his head sadly. "No, no, I'm afraid not. A young commander in Andross' army named Cain personally executed James during Andross' takeover of the Lylat System," he said. "As for Pigma, he joined a team of bounty hunters called Star Wolf, whom we were rivals with in those days."

Suddenly Peppys eyes brightened. "And speaking of those days..." he said slowly. He got up and walked over to a small trunk in the corner of the room. He opened it and reached inside. "I suppose James would have wanted you to have this, when you were old enough, Fox," he said, removing a small, black object from the trunk. "I think you're ready. Your father's blaster, which he threw to me to help me make my escape from Venom."

Fox, blinking in surprise, took the weapon from Peppy. It was considerably less bulky than the modern ones that imperial shock troops used, although it only had one power setting: high. He aimed it out one of the open windows of the hut, then fired.

_Spak!_ A red beam of energy shot out of the gun, flew through the window and struck a cliff face outside. "It's powerful," observed Fox, grinning.

"Yeah, they don't make 'em like that anymore. The energy cells in those older blasters can last fifty years or more," said Peppy. He was silent for a moment as Slippy put the finishing touches on ROB and Fox examined his new blaster. "So have you made up your mind yet? Will you come with me to Fortuna?" he asked.

Fox frowned. "Look," he said. "Slippy and I live here now. I want to help you though. I... I suppose I could take you to Ameentha, you should be able to hire a pilot to take you to Fortuna from there," he said.

Peppy looked disappointed, but relinquished. "Alright then, it's your choice. I suppose with an urgent message like this, we should be going quickly!" he said.

After taking what money he had, Peppy followed Fox and Slippy to the hovercraft outside. Fox drove, Peppy sat in the passengers seat, and both Slippy and ROB perched themselves in the wide rear end of the vehicle.

Fox navigated the hovercraft through the desert until they came to what appeared to be a small, ruined campsite. ROB gasped.

"Young master Fox, stop! I believe this is the merchant camp that I first came to!" he cried.

Fox squinted through the sun at the campsite, then eased the hovercraft to a halt. "Stars..." he murmured, his eyes widening. The tents were tattered, the supplies were spread across the ground, and four dead bodies lay in the sand: three boars and one armadillo.

The four climbed out of the hovercraft to inspect the gruesome scene. "Jeez," Slippy muttered, grimacing.

"Poor guys. Trychen must have gotten them during the night," said Fox forlornly.

Peppy shook his head. "No, look closer," he said grimly. "Trychen use clubs and spears. The wounds on these merchants bodies are laser blasts. Two to the chest, one to the head for each. If they want to insure someone's death, that's the method of killing imperial shock troops use."

Fox scratched his head, being carful to avoid the scrape on his temple. "But I don't understand, why would shock troops kill..." the answer suddenly dawned on him as he saw ROB stumble as he emerged from the hovercraft.

"Now Fox, stay calm..." Peppy began. But by the time he finished his sentence, Fox was already firing up the thrusters on the hovercraft, a look of sheer horror frozen on his face. "Wait, Fox! It's too dangerous!" Peppy shouted.

"Fox!" Slippy screamed, trying to hurry back and catch the vehicle. But it was too late. Fox was already a speck in the distance, speeding across the desert in the hovercraft.

Fox pulled the blaster from his belt, setting it on the passenger seat. He had to get home! _Come on, move!_ Fox shouted inwardly to the wobbly hovercraft. Fox swore loudly as the underside of the vehicle hit a rock, jarring him in his seat. "Come on!" he shouted.

Soon a small speck appeared in the distance. Fox began to sweat. It was smoke. There was smoke rising from the homestead. Fox swerved the hovercraft to a halt a few meters from the garage, grabbed the blaster, and hopped out onto the sand.

"Uncle Mike! Aunt Angela!" he called loudly, holding the blaster out in front of him, ready to shoot the first living thing he saw. He rounded the garage to see the homestead itself. Smoke billowed out from the door and windows. Flames crackled inside. And two charred, blackened bodies lay in the sand.

Fox dropped the blaster and threw himself to the ground, burying his face in the sand. No. It couldn't have happened. He wanted to see no more.

-------------

_Author's Note:_ Next chapter, Falco shows up! Please review, and thanks for reading so far!


	6. In Ameentha

The bright rays of Solar gleamed off of the cold metal hull of the Venomian flagship as it cruised through space toward the planet Venom. Inside, Cain and two other imperial shock troops escorted Krystal to the command bridge. The blue vixen kept a composed, calm posture despite her inner fears.

Cain chuckled, seeing the look on Krystals face when the captain of the massive ship, a small, albino mouse, approached. "I believe you've heard of Captain Elliot White, am I right, Krystal? He looked over the entire destruction of Cerinia, if I remember correctly," Cain snickered.

"It's a pleasure to have your acquaintance at last. I hope there will be no hard feelings between us during your stay aboard this ship," grinned White, baring his large, yellowed teeth.

"Captain White," acknowledged Krystal calmly. "I thought I recognized your stench when I was brought onboard."

White's red eyes gleamed coldly. "Always the charmer, aren't you?" he said.

Krystal glared at the Captain. "So why did you bring me here? What use am I to you?" she asked.

"A great one, miss. We believe that as one of the rebel leaders, you know the location of their base. Simply tell us where it is, and you will receive full pardon for your actions from Emperor Andross," said White.

"And if I don't agree to tell you?" Krystal said coldly, staring at the captain.

White shrugged. "It doesn't matter, I suppose. No one will ever know about your death, and we can find a weaker individual to tell us," he said. He nodded to one of the shock troops, who walked forward, drew his blaster, and pressed it to the side of Krystals head.

White grinned, seeing the vixen blink fearfully. "I- I..." she stammered, looking sidelong at the shock troops beside her. He closed her eyes. "Zoness," she whispered softly, looking ashamed of herself. "It's on Zoness."

White nodded at the shock troops again, and he stepped away from Krystal. "See? That wasn't so hard, was it? Lord Cain, find a suitable holding cell to keep her in until we reach Venom," he said.

"What?" Krystal cried. "You said I would be pardoned!"

"It's called lying, mistress Krystal. Please make yourself comfortable in your cell. In a few days time we will reach Zoness, and you can see your precious rebellion crushed once and for all. Then you can die on Venom knowing that it was you who betrayed everyone who looked up to you in that worthless band of 'freedom fighters'," sneered White.

Snarling in anger, Krystal managed to spit on White's black captain's uniform before the shock troops dragged her away.

White wiped the spittle away with disdain, then turned back to the operators in the bridge. "Set a course for planet Zoness. We will send scouts down upon our arrival to see whether or not she was telling us the truth," he said.

***

Peppy approached Fox slowly as the youth eased his hovercraft to a halt beside the ruined merchant camp. Behind him, ROB and Slippy were still working to bury the remains of the merchants.

Peppy touched Fox's shoulder, looking down at the gloomy, depressed young man. "It wasn't your fault, Fox. You didn't do anything that caused this," he said.

Fox nodded slowly. "I know," he said softly. Then he looked up at Peppy, his jaw set in a way that made him look much older than he was. "I want to go with you," Fox said. "I want to join the Cornerian rebellion, and become a pilot like my father."

Peppy nodded. "Thank you, Fox. Thank you," he said.

After finishing burying the merchants, and after hearing Fox's explanation of what he had seen back at the homestead, Slippy jubilantly declared that he wished to come along as well.

"They were like second parents to me, too! The Andross Empire had no right to do such a thing!" he toad said. Fox was gladdened by his friend's agreement to come with them, but doubts still plagued his mind.

"Do you really have enough money to hire a pilot? I would have brought some from the homestead, but it was burnt to the ground," he asked Peppy as they drove to the spaceport of Ameentha to find a pilot.

"I have enough credits saved up from my days as a mercenary, Fox, don't worry. Money won't matter once we reach the Cornerian rebellion on Fortuna," said Peppy.

As they entered Ameentha, Fox found that they had even more problems: imperial shock troops seemed to be everywhere, inspecting every android they could find. One of the troops stopped Fox's hovercraft at the entrance to the port.

"Hold it," he said, glancing at ROB. "Is this your android?" he asked Fox.

"Uh... no, some guy said he'd pay me to bring him to get repairs," Fox said slowly.

The troop scowled. "I think I'm going to need to see some identification," he said.

Suddenly Peppy's eye grew wide, he began scrabbling at Fox wildly, gasping for breath and clutching his chest. "My grandson, please, it- it's coming onto me again! I need to get to a hospital! Stars, my chest! Chest is on fire!" he cried.

Fox was confused, but decided to play along. "I'm so sorry, I need to get my... uh, grandfather to the hospital. I swear I'll come right back," he said. Before the startled troops could respond, Fox sped off into town.

Peppy calmed down, taking a few deep breaths and straightening his jacket.

"What was that all about?" Slippy asked confusedly.

"We needed some way to get out of that, didn't we?" asked Peppy.

Peppy directed Fox over to a small, dimly lit pub on a street corner, telling him to park the hovercraft and go inside.

"Here? You want to find a pilot in a bar?" Fox asked, grimacing.

"Are you kidding? This is where all the hotshot pilots are on Katina. You just have to have the money to get them to agree with you," Peppy said. He stopped Fox and Slippy before they entered. "But I warn you two, this place gets a little bit rough sometimes," he said. He nodded towards ROB. "Watch over the hovercraft, and keep out of sight," he said.

Fox, Peppy, and Slippy all entered the bar warily, Fox and Slippy glancing around nervously and Peppy retaining a strong composure.

The three of them split up, Slippy and Peppy going off to find a pilot, while Fox, claiming that he was thirsty, went up to the bar to get a drink.

"What can I get you, kid?" asked the round-faced bulldog at the bar.

Fox looked at a cup of green liquid that a jackal sitting next to him was drinking. "Uh, I'll have what he's having," Fox said, gesturing towards the jackal.

The bartender nodded and brought Fox his drink after being paid for it. Fox picked the translucent glass up from the stone bar and to a sip of it, wrinkling his nose at the bitter taste.

Suddenly he noticed that the jackal was staring at him, almost as if Fox had made him angry. Fox just nodded towards it and took another sip of his drink.

"He doesn't like you," said a gruff voice from behind him. Fox turned around to see a short, burly scorpion with a scarred face standing behind him. It had the smell of alcohol on its breath.

"Well... sorry about that," Fox said, turning back to the bar. The scorpion grabbed him by the back of the shirt and spun Fox around to face him.

"_I_ don't like you either," the scorpion snarled.

Before Fox could say anything, Peppy quickly approached them both.

"He's not worth your trouble, he's just a kid," said Peppy. "Now come on, I'll buy you a drink..."

The drunken scorpion roared furiously and hurled Fox aside, slamming him into the concrete wall. It reached down and wrenched a blaster from it's belt, aiming between Peppy's eyes.

Peppy surprised everyone in the bar with his speed. He grabbed the scorpions wrist and quickly twisted it to the side. With a cry of pain it dropped the blaster, and Peppy caught it in midair, aiming it at the scorpion and the jackal.

"Now go on, get out of here. I think you two have had too much to drink," the rabbit said curtly. Scowling, the scorpion and the jackal left the bar, muttering softly to each other.

Peppy tucked the blaster into his inner coat pocket, then helped Fox up from the dirt floor. "Sorry about that, Fox. I know it wasn't your fault," he said. Around them, the people in the bar were beginning to settle down after the scuffle. "Now come on, Slippy thinks he's found us a pilot," Peppy said.

"Yeah? Who?" asked Fox, dusting himself off.

"Oh, I don't know his name. Some hotshot, or at least he thinks he is," chuckled Peppy.

He led Fox over to a booth in a darkened corner of the bar, where Slippy awaited them. With him was a blue bird that Fox guessed was a few years older than him. As Peppy and Fox slid into the booth next to Slippy, the bird nodded at them and took his feet off the table.

"Falco Lombardi," he introduced himself. "I'm captain of the _Eagle's Eye_." Falco jerked his thumb towards Slippy. "So your friend Flippy here says you need someone to fly you to Fortuna," he said.

"Uh, my name's Slippy," Slippy corrected.

"Yeah, right, whatever. I can take you there no problem, but it won't be cheap," Falco said.

"It doesn't matter the price. Is your ship fast?" Peppy asked.

Falco stared at Peppy incredulously for a moment, then laughed. "Is she _fast_? Of course she is! She's outrun a Venomian star cruiser, and that ain't an easy task," he said.

"Well that's good, because we aren't wanting any interference from the Andross Empire," said Peppy quietly.

Falco's eyes gleamed brightly. "Really? Then it's going to cost you more," he said. "Say... ten thousand."

Fox gaped at Falco. "_Ten thousand_? Oh, come on, this is ridiculous! Peppy, we can do without this idiot!" Fox cried, beginning to get out of his seat. Peppy stopped him.

"Done," the rabbit said. "I'll also throw in an extra five thousand up front if you can get us there within three days," he added quickly.

There was a moment of tension at the table while Falco seemed to mull the offer over. "Done," he said at last. "I'll give you about an hour to get ready. She's in hangar bay four-one-eight. Wait for me there," he said.

Peppy, Fox, and Slippy all stood and thanked Falco before heading outside.

"Ten thousand extra? You can't be serious!" Slippy cried.

"I have just enough money, it's alright. We won't need money once we join the Cornerian rebellion," said Peppy.

Once outside, they found ROB laying flat behind the driver and passenger seats of the hovercraft. He sat up quickly as they approached. "Young master Fox, I've had some trouble keeping the vehicle safe from thieves, while at the same time not being noticed by imperial soldiers. Are we ready to leave yet?" he asked.

"Yes we are. We just need to pick up food and provisions for the journey, then meet with that Falco character in hangar bay four-one-eight," said Peppy.

"Oh. Good," said ROB, laying back down again.

Inside the bar, Falco was finishing his drink in the booth, grinning to himself at how much money he could make just by flying three idiots and their android to Fortuna. _It may be a bit complicated if they want to avoid the Andross Empire, though_, Falco thought to himself. He shrugged. It didn't matter anyway. His ship was fast.

He gulped down the last of his drink, stood up, and began to walk away from the booth.

"Going somewhere, Lombardi?" hissed an icy voice behind him.

Falco turned around to face the figure behind him, but seemed undaunted by the blaster the figure had pointed at his chest."Look who it is! Leon Powalski, how's it goin'?" Falco laughed at his old rival, a bounty hunter of team Star Wolf.

"Don't play games with me, Lombardi. Sit down, _now_," sneered Leon. Falco held his hands up in the air and sat down, leaning back in the booth and grinning.

"Look Leon, I know they want the money, but I'll get it to them. In fact, I have it right now," said Falco.

"Oh you do, do you? Show me," demanded the chameleon, sitting down opposite Falco.

"No, not _with_ me. I'll get it to the Katinan Outfit in a week, I promise," said Falco, casually reaching under the table to scratch his knee. As he brought his hand back up, he slowly drew his own blaster out of it's holster, aiming it at Leon's stomach under the table.

"Ah, but a week is too long, Lombardi. Emmet Eelardo has put a nice price on your head: dead or alive, and you're worth more dead. I made sure that _I_ was the one from my team who would catch you," said Leon. "Catch you, or... the other. I've been waiting a very long time for this, Lombardi," hissed Leon, grinning.

"I bet you have," grinned Falco. He quickly tilted his head to the side, narrowly avoiding being shot between the eyes by Leon. Before the chameleon could take aim for another shot, Falco pulled the trigger of his own blaster, frying Leon's stomach and intestines with a blue blast of energy.

Everyone in the bar turned at the sound of the blast, staring in shock as Leon's smoking corpse slumped against the table.

Falco holstered his blaster, stood up, and flipped fifty credits to the bartender. "Sorry about the mess," he said, then quickly left the pub before anyone could stop him.


	7. Flight of the Eagle

Peppy, Fox, and Slippy finished buying the supplies they needed in Ameentha. They each had a large blanket, extra clothes, and six ration packages for each of them, two for each day they would be flying. They did not expect Falco to be so courteous as to give them his own stores of food onboard the _Eagle's Eye_.

"I didn't like that guy," muttered Fox, remembering Falco. "He just seemed so... _arrogant_. I hope his ship is as fast as he claims it is," he said.

"We can just cross our fingers and hope," said Slippy.

ROB seemed to be the only of them who wasn't relaxed, constantly claiming that someone was following them or that he thought he heard the same voices talking in the crowd.

"You're just being paranoid, ROB, chill out," chuckled Fox. But the fact was, ROB wasn't being paranoid. In their anger, the jackal and scorpion who had attacked Fox at the pub had reported the incident to a few of the imperial shock troops nearby. They had soon discovered Fox, Slippy, and Peppy to be the same people that had sped by the troops at the entrance to the port after Peppy claimed he was having a heart attack. It was easy enough for the troops to figure out that the android they were carrying was in fact the one they were looking for.

Now, troops throughout the town were combing the area, searching for a fox, rabbit, and toad with a bipedal maintenance android with them.

"Thank you for selling your hovercraft to pay for the extra supplies, Fox. I had barely enough money to pay our self-confident pilot," said Peppy.

"Don't mention it. I doubt I'm ever coming back here again," muttered Fox.

As the four of them entered hangar bay four-one-eight, Fox looked up from his supplies to see a bulky, blue and red painted freight ship with crudely welded landing gear holding it off the sandy ground.

"Oh, stars," Fox said slowly. He gaped up at the _Eagle's Eye_ with disgust. "What a piece of junk! I thought with all that guy's boasting, he'd have a ship that looked at least halfway decent!" he cried.

Falco, who was tightening one of the bolts holding the landing gear together, scowled at Fox. "She's got built in shields and weapons, and a hyperspeed jet. She's better than she looks," he said.

"It doesn't matter how she looks, all that matters is that she gets us there in one piece," said Peppy, heading towards the entry ramp of the ship.

"Yeah, so shut up, kid," snapped Falco at Fox. "Anyway, you four had better get on up there, I hear there's shock troops looking for you. Guess you attracted some attention with that little fight of yours in the bar, old man," the bird chuckled at Peppy.

Peppy ignored the egotistical bird and led the others up the entry ramp. To all of their surprise, the ship was already primed and ready for takeoff.

_I guess this Falco character is in a hurry to leave, too_, thought Fox.

Outside, Falco was just putting the finishing touches of the _Eagle_, making sure the shields were ready and the engine was warm enough for them to take off quickly without damaging the ship.

Falco turned towards the entryway to the hangar, frowning as he heard the steady marching of footsteps coming closer. Soon, three imperial shock troops appeared at the hangar door, approaching Falco.

"We heard you were flying a group of people off this planet," said the apparent leader of the troops.

"Yeah? So?" asked Falco, blinking.

"We believe that you're helping a group of fugitives that we've been pursuing escape. Before we search your ship, may we ask you if you're carrying any bipedal maintenance androids?" asked the captain of the group.

Falco shook his head slowly. "Nope. No maintenance androids on my ship," he lied.

Suddenly there came a loud clang from the entry ramp, and ROB stumbled down. "Captain Falco, I am proficient in piloting numerous types of spacecraft, and was wondering if it would be easier if I helped you pilot the ship?" he asked.

The shock troops looked at ROB in confusion, then back at Falco.

"Hey!" the captain shouted, reaching for the blaster rifle slung over one shoulder.

In two fluid movements, Falco spun behind the landing gear for cover, whipped his blaster out of its holster, and fired two laser shots into the captain's chest. "Hey! Android! Go start up the ship, I'll catch up with you!" Falco shouted to ROB.

ROB hurried back up the ramp and into the cockpit of the ship, where Fox, Slippy, and Peppy waited.

"What's going on out there?" cried Peppy, looking out the cockpit window at the firing shock troops below.

"We must leave! Imperial troops are after us!" said ROB in his loud, monotonous voice. He plugged his index and middle finger into two sockets in the control panel of the ship, and slowly it retraced its landing gear and began to hover in the air.

Outside the _Eagle_, Falco rolled across the sand towards the entry ramp, firing his blaster rapidly at the shock troops. Another fell, but five more quickly appeared at the entrance to the hangar, firing not only at Falco, but at the cockpit of the _Eagle_ as well.

The ship floated higher in the air, out of Falco's normal reach. The entry ramp was still extended though. Falco dashed forward, rolled to avoid another laser blast, then leapt in the air and caught onto the edge of the ramp with his fingertips.

He climbed inside the ship quickly and retracted the entry ramp, closing the main hatch. He then holstered his blaster and hurried into the cockpit of the _Eagle_, wrenching ROB away from the controls and taking up the controls himself.

The _Eagle _soared out over Ameentha and quickly climbed high into the atmosphere. But the Andross Empire wasn't about to give up that easily. Two Venomian starfighters quickly picked up the trail of the _Eagle_, and began pursuing her straight into space.

"What's the matter, why can't you shake these guys? I thought you said this ship was fast!" shouted Fox.

"She is fast, watch your mouth or you'll be floating back to that dustball with the rest of the deadweight I may have to drop," snapped Falco. A laser blast was barely deflected by the _Eagle_'s rear shields, and the ship bucked violently.

"What's that flashing thing there?" asked Slippy, pointing at a red light that began blinking on the control panel. Falco slapped the toad's hand away from the controls.

"The shields just got jarred pretty bad. But don't worry, I'm setting our hyperspeed course right now," Falco said.

"Why can't you just fly away right now?" asked Fox.

"Oh, that's a great idea! How about we go in one direction at light-speed without knowing where we're going? You wanna fly right into a planet or through Solar? That'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?" said Falco in frustration.

Another white-hot laser flew through space past the _Eagle_. "Almost ready," said Falco softly. He looked at ROB. "Hey android, when I tell you to, activate the hyperspeed jets, okay?" he asked.

"My name isn't android, I am ROB 64, maintenance and starship control–"

"Just shut up and do it," said Falco. He finished punching in the coordinates to Fortuna, then eased a lever on the control panel forward, charging the hyperspeed jets. "Ready?" he asked ROB. The android nodded. "Now!" Falco shouted.

ROB automatically fired up the hyperspeed jets, and in a flash, the _Eagle's Eye_ was gone, leaving the two lonely Venomian fighters flying through space miles from Katina.

Everyone in the cockpit of the _Eagle_ breathed a sigh of relief. Since the ship was on autopilot until it reached Fortuna, Falco released the controls and leaned back in the pilots chair, grinning broadly.

"And to think you doubted her," Falco chuckled at Fox. "Yeah, they all do until she pulls into slipspace. Don't worry, I don't blame you," he said.

Fox just scowled.

"Well, it appears your boasting wasn't all fabricated. I'll have to congratulate you on a miraculous escape," said Peppy.

"Old man, you don't know what a miraculous escape is," Falco laughed.

Peppy frowned. "As a matter of fact, I do," he said softly, almost to himself.

***

Cain nodded at the sweating tortoise in front of him. "You know what you've done, don't you, captain?" he asked.

The captain took a shaky, fearful breath. "I- I do know, Lord Cain," he said.

Cain, who had been staring out the window of the Venomian flagship bridge, turned to face the captain who had commanded a group of shock troops to go to Ameentha and capture the escaped android. "Then do you know the risk this poses for the Andross Empire?" he asked coldly, his voice hissing through the oxygen vent in his helmet.

"Yes, my lord," answered the captain.

"Then can you guess..." Cain stepped forward until he was standing directly in front of the captain. "...What I'm going to do to you?"

The captain could only swallow fearfully.

With one swift motion, almost quicker than anyone could see, Cain swept a metallic, cylindrical device from his belt and swung it through the air, a white blade of energy appearing and disappearing from the end of it almost instantly.

The head of the captain slid forward, then fell to the grated metal floor, quickly followed by his body.

Cain hooked the energy sword back into his belt and toed the headless corpse with one foot. Then he looked up at the rest of the troops and officers. "Get back to your stations, immediately. If we don't reach Zoness within two days, more will meet the same end as him!" he said, pointing to the corpse on the floor.

-----------

_Author's Note:_ Well, this story is about halfway done... I think :/ Anyway, please review, and thanks for reading!


	8. Captured

The first day aboard the _Eagle_ was relatively uneventful for Peppy, Fox, Slippy, and ROB. For a while they sat in the cockpit with Falco, listening to him boast about how many Venomian fleet ships he had outrun in the _Eagle_, how many bounty hunters he had managed to avoid as a mercenary, and some of his smuggling runs with a space gang he used to be affiliated with called the "Hot Rodders".

Fox guessed that most of the tales were either fabricate or exaggerated, but he really didn't care anymore. He became used to the blue bird's behavior soon enough.

Peppy would spend countless hours talking to Fox about the adventures of team Star Fox, of how Andross had organized a rebellion against the Cornerian republic, the epic space battles he and James McCloud had taken part in, and the eventual exile of Andross to planet Venom after the war.

"And James," Peppy remembered, smiling. "James would laugh at the sight of all those explosions in space, the laser beams crisscrossing throughout the battlefield, and he'd say, 'Come on, we don't want the battle to end before we get there, do we?'" the rabbit grinned. "And do you know what the most remarkable thing about James was?" he asked Fox.

"No. What?" Fox asked, leaning towards Peppy excitedly.

Peppy grinned. "In all his time as a pilot, I don't think I ever saw James use an auto-targeting device. He fired every bomb, missile, and laser manually. He trusted his own instincts as a pilot. I believe he had the will of the Cornerian gods on his side," he said.

Falco, who had been polishing his blaster in the corner of the lounge room, looked up. "Wow, those are some pretty amazing stories, old man. But no offense, gods and instincts got nothing to do with anything. When you're in a tight spot, nothing beats a load of luck and a good blaster at your side," he said.

Peppy shrugged. "Believe what you want to believe, then. Personally, I don't believe in luck or miracles. I think that everything is predetermined. We must have made a certain decision for a reason, and not just because we felt like it, right?" he asked.

Fox believed Peppy, but Falco just shrugged and resumed polishing his blaster.

In the corner of the room, Slippy and ROB played a game of virtual chess, with holographic chess pieces on the board. Slippy seemed to be on the edge of losing.

"Hey!" the toad cried as ROB commanded his rook, a giant lava creature like those living under the surface of Solar, to attack Slippy's queen.

ROB examined the board, then looked up at Slippy. "If I am correct, I believe that is a checkmate," he said.

Slippy looked down angrily to see that it was indeed true- he couldn't move his king without the rook taking it. "Fine, you win," he muttered.

The next morning, Falco assured them that they would be at Fortuna that night at the latest. Then the bird grimaced as he checked one of the readouts on the control panel. "Scratch that, it might be another day until we get there. We must have burned up most of our fuel trying to get there in such a hurry," he said.

"Well where can we refuel?" asked Peppy, rubbing his whiskers thoughtfully.

Falco checked the computer readout of the Lylat System on the control panel. "Looks like the closest inhabited planet is Zoness. I guess we should stop there for a few hours, if the empire isn't there. Otherwise we're toast," Falco said grimly.

***

The imperial officer hurried toward the command bridge of the Venomian flagship, mixed emotions of anger, fear, and shock apparent on his face. He entered the command bridge and approached captain White, who was staring down at Zoness below them.

"Sir," said the officer, "our scouts searched the entire planet. They've found the remnants of a rebel base on one of the islands, but it appears to have been abandoned long ago."

White blinked at the officer. Slowly, a look of rage began to contort his face into a hideous snarl. "She _lied!_ She lied to us!" roared White. His red eyes gleamed with fury, his tiny, balled fists shaking. "Send word to Venom the mistress Krystal will not be arriving. Tell them that she has already been executed for high treason," he said.

The officer blinked. "And the girl?" he asked.

"_Terminate her!_" shouted White furiously.

***

"Alright, coming up to Zoness right about now," announced Falco, glancing at the readouts on the control panel. "ROB, ease us out of slipspace, will you?"

"Yes, captain Lombardi,"said ROB. Slowly, the green glow of slipspace outside subsided, and the _Eagle_ emerged into the Lylat System once more, just outside the atmosphere of Zoness. What they saw there terrified them.

"Turn us around, we can't land here!" shouted Peppy as the _Eagle_ flew closer and closer to the Venomian flagship.

Falco wrenched at the controls, but the ship wouldn't budge.

"What are you doing, get us out of here!" Fox cried.

"What the hell do you think I'm trying to do? They must have sensed us coming out of slipspace, they've got us caught in their tractor beam," Falco said grimly.

"What does that mean?" Slippy asked.

"It means that we're being towed into their hangar," said Peppy grimly. He glanced at Falco. "Falco, you're the pilot. Do you have a plan?" he asked.

Falco looked thoughtful for a moment, staring intently at the quickly approaching hangar of the Venomian flagship. "Yeah," he said at last. "I got an idea."

As the _Eagle's Eye_ was slowly dragged into the hangar of the flagship by the tractor beam, Two figures quickly marched into the hangar, one a small mouse with white fur and red eyes, the other a tall, cyborg-like creature in black armor.

"What is this, where did this pathetic excuse for a ship come from?" snapped the already infuriated Captain White to a deck officer nearby.

"We picked it up approaching in slipspace, sir. While we were towing it in with the tractor beam, one of the troops identified it as the same ship that blasted out of Katina only two days ago," said the deck officer.

White looked up at the _Eagle_, scowling. "Have a team search the ship with thermal rays. If there are any passengers onboard, android or living thing, I want them brought to me alive. Is that understood?" he asked.

The deck officer nodded and quickly departed to find a suitable search team. White left the hangar, but Cain stayed, staring at the ship intently. After a while, he too left.

In a few minutes, a team of three officers were inside the _Eagle_, searching every nook and cranny. After a while they found the ships log, which indicated that two escape pods had been jettisoned from the _Eagle_ just minutes after they had come out of slipspace.

Unbeknownst to them, Peppy, Fox, Slippy, ROB, and Falco _were_ still onboard the ship: they were hiding in secret smuggling compartments underneath the cockpit completely impervious to both heat and motion detectors. After the search team left the ship, a metal panel on the floor of the cockpit slid aside, and Falco, Fox, Peppy, and Slippy all climbed out. ROB came out afterwards with the help of Slippy.

"I've been using those for smuggling for as long as I've had this ship," Falco mused. "Never thought I'd be hiding myself in them," he chuckled.

"So now what do we do?" asked Fox, dusting himself off.

"Well, it's pretty easy. We deactivate the tractor beam, get back to the ship, and fly on outta here," said Falco, peeking out the cockpit window at two shock troopers waiting outside the extended entry ramp.

"I know, but _how_?" asked Slippy.

"There has to be a computer terminal somewhere," said Peppy. "If we can get ROB plugged into it, he may be able to remotely shut the tractor beam off. See up there?" the rabbit asked, pointing out the cockpit windshield at a window overlooking the hangar. "That's where they monitor all the ships that come in and out of the hangar. There has to be a computer terminal up there."

Fox frowned. "But how do we get up there? We step out of this ship and they'll kill us!" he said.

The grimace on Falco's face slowly turned into a grin. "Anyone else have a blaster?" he asked.

"Fox and I do. Why?" asked Peppy.

Falco pulled his own blaster out of it's holster and set it for stun. "I've got an idea," he said.

Outside the _Eagle_, the two shock troopers were muttering to each other under their breath about the safety regulations. Apparently an electrical reactor had fried not one, but three mechanics that very month.

They looked up the entrance ramp of the _Eagle_ curiously upon hearing a loud bang come from inside.

"Hey, guys!" shouted a voice from inside. "I got hung up scanning this place, and the other guys left. Can you gimme a hand carrying this case?"

The two troops shrugged at each other, holstered their weapons, and hurried up the entrance ramp. Two quiet _spak_s of blaster fire were heard, followed by soft _thump_s of the troops hitting the floor.

A few minutes later, one of the officers in the monitoring room above the hangar sauntered over to the window and looked down at the _Eagle_, frowning when he didn't see the two troops outside it. He picked up a small radio from the control panel and spoke into it. "Troop 78543, why aren't you at your post?" he asked. No answer. Angered, he raised the radio to his mouth again. "Troop 78543, where are you?" he said loudly.

Slowly, an armored shock troop clumsily stumbled out of the _Eagle_. He looked up at the window, then tapped the side of his helmet and shrugged, indicating that his radio link wasn't working.

The officer shook his head in disgust. "We've got a defective helmet, call it down to the maintenance androids. They'll send a new one down there," said the officer.

One of the raccoons at the monitors nodded and stood up, heading towards the exit to the control room. He opened the sliding, steel door to come face to face with another troop. "Move, soldier, I have business to attend to," the raccoon said. He peered past the soldier at an android, a rabbit, and a toad behind him. "Hey, who are–"

_Spak!_ The troop raised his blaster rifle and shot the raccoon in the chest. The officer reached down and pulled a blaster pistol from his belt, but was shot by Peppy before he could shoot. The final raccoon reached for an extra blaster on the wall, but was shot before he could grab it.

The troop, Peppy, Slippy, and ROB hurried into the room, dragging the bodies into a supply closet. Slippy scavenged a blaster rifle from the dead bodies.

The troop that had tapped his helmet down in the hangar took a service elevator to the second floor, then hurried into the monitoring room. He closed and locked the door behind him, then pulled off his helmet, revealing himself to be Fox.

"Stars, could you have made more noise? I'm surprised the entire ship isn't down here after that!" Fox scolded the others.

The second troop lazily tugged his helmet off his head, revealing the face of Falco. "Well bring 'em on, I prefer fighting to sneaking around anyway," he snickered. He holstered his blaster, set his helmet down on the control panel, and sat down in one of the chairs in front of the controls.

ROB clanked over to a plug in the wall and inserted his index finger into it. "Scanning in process. This should only take a moment," he said. After a few moments of communicating with the computer, he looked at the others. "I'm afraid the tractor beam is not connected with any computer system on the ship. The computer says that the only way to shut it down is by manually deactivating the power generator it is liked to," he said.

Falco rolled his eyes. "Great. _More_ work we have to do. I'm charging you extra for this, you know," he told Peppy.

"If we don't get out of here, that won't matter," said Peppy slowly. He walked over to an electronic map on the wall showing the layouts of every level of the ship. "You four stay here. I'll take care of the tractor beam," the aged rabbit said.

Slippy blinked. "Wait a minute, you? Shouldn't we go with you?" he asked.

"I can handle this myself. You three need to guard ROB at all costs," said Peppy.

Before anyone could protest, Peppy opened the door and hurried back out into the ship, leaving the four of them alone.

***

Cain stood with his hands folded behind his back in the control bridge of the flagship, his breath hissing in and out of his helmet. He'd had a feeling when near the _Eagle's Eye_. A very strange one. He almost felt as though he were sensing the presence of another being that he had once known, a very long time ago.

And suddenly he remembered.

"You seem troubled, Lord Cain," said Captain White.

Cain looked at the captain. "It's Peppy Hare. He's here," he said.

White looked alarmed. "Peppy Hare? Of the Star Fox team?" he asked. "How can you be sure?"

"I know his tactics. He has used the trick of jettisoning escape pods in a ship before to make enemies believe he is no longer on a ship. I know him well. This is exactly the type of plan Peppy Hare would use to infiltrate our ship," Cain said.

White frowned. "Should I order troops to begin searching for him?" he asked.

Cain stood in silence for a long moment. At last he said, "No. I'll handle him myself." With that he turned and hurried out of the hangar, thoughts going through his mind of where Peppy may go next.

-----------------

_Author's Note:_ I'm excited about writing the next few chapters, they're really exciting! Thanks for reading!


	9. Rescuing Krystal

Fox, Falco, Slippy, and ROB all sat in the control room in silence. Fox seemed rather uncomfortable in his shock trooper armor, which was a bit big for him. Falco was swiveling aimlessly in the chair he was sitting in, Slippy was examining the different controls on the control board, and ROB was continuing his scan of the flagship.

Suddenly ROB went wild. "Ah! Ah, she's here, she's here! I found her, she's here!" he cried.

Falco frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Who've you found?" asked Fox curiously.

"Mistress Krystal! She's here aboard this ship!" ROB said loudly.

Fox gaped at the android. "Krystal, she's here? Where, where do they have her?"

ROB communicated with the computer mainframe of the flagship for a few moments. "Level three detention center, cell B-13," he said.

"Wait, what are you talking about?" asked Falco, blinking.

"What's up?" asked Slippy, trotting over to ROB.

"Krystal, the girl in that hologram! She's here!" Fox said.

"I'm afraid she's scheduled for execution in exactly two hours," said ROB gravely.

"Well come on, we have to save her!" Fox cried brashly. He began putting his helmet on when Falco stopped him.

"What's happening, who's this Krystal you're talking about?" the bird asked Fox and Slippy.

"She's the girl that sent us to bring ROB to the Cornerian rebellion!" said Slippy.

Falco frowned. Through the adventure, neither Slippy or Fox had mentioned the battle between the Cornerian rebellion and the Andross Empire. "Sorry, but no can do for me. I don't get mixed up with the war," he said.

"Come on, we need you Falco! Look, the rebellion will double- no, they'll _triple_ the money we were originally going to give you!" said Fox. "Just a minute ago you said you'd rather fight than sit around here!"

Falco looked skeptical. "I don't know, I heard the rebellion was falling on hard times," he said. He thought about it for a moment, then sighed. "Alright, farm boy, you got a plan?" he asked, still scowling.

Fox grinned, relieved that they had Falco with them. "Um..." he said slowly. Then he noticed a pair of electrical cuffs hanging on the wall next to the computer terminal. "Hey Slippy, hand me those cuffs," he said. Slippy obediently fetched the electrical prison cuffs and gave them to Fox. "Now I'm going to put these on you, and Falco and I will take you to the detention center to lock you up," Fox said.

Slippy jumped back, alarmed. "What? What kind of a plan is that, swap me for her?" he cried, alarmed.

Falco grinned. "I don't think so. Relax, froggy, I think I know what this kid has in mind," he said.

Six minutes later, Fox and Falco, disguised as two shock troops, were leading a downcast-looking Slippy to a set of elevators leading to the different levels of the Venomian flagship. Although the cuffs on Slippy's wrists looked secure, Fox had left them open slightly, allowing Slippy to break out of them at any moment necessary.

They entered a free elevator, with Falco casually gesturing if an officer wanted to enter it as well. With a look of disdain on his face, the officer passed on the offer, waiting for another one.

They took the elevator down to the level three detention center, trying to look as casual as possible. As the elevator doors opened and they stepped out, a prison officer approached them.

"Where are you taking this boy?" he asked Fox and Falco, frowning at the nervous looking Slippy.

"Prisoner transfer to cell C-23... sir," answered Fox slowly.

The man frowned. "I didn't know there was a transfer. I'll check to see when the report came in," he said. He walked briskly over to one of the computer terminals in the walls, but before he could check anything Slippy broke out of the prison cuffs, snatched a blaster rifle out of Fox's hands, and shot him dead.

"Look out, he's loose!" shouted Falco, both he and Fox recoiling as though Slippy were a carnivorous sea creature from Aquas and not a seemingly harmless toad. A shock troops raised his blaster to shoot Slippy, but was hit in the chest by a shot from Fox's blaster, supposedly aimed for Slippy.

The room exploded in blaster fire, with Slippy, Fox, and Falco blasting security cameras and guards alike.

One of the guards seemed to catch on to what Fox and Falco were up to. "Hey, who are you two–" Falco shot him in the stomach before he could finish his sentence.

After they were finished with the cameras and guards, Fox, Falco, and Slippy rushed up to one of the intact computer terminals on the wall. "Here she is: vixen, Krystal. Cell B-13, access code is 4195. You go get her out, Slippy and I'll hold them off here," said Falco to Fox.

"What was that? What happened? What going on, answer me!" blared a voice from a radio on the wall. Falco removed his helmet as to not muffle his voice, then leaned towards the radio.

"Um, uh, everything's under control here sir, no need to worry," Falco stammered.

"What happened down there, it sounded like Cornerian fireworks!" cried the man on the other side of the radio.

"Oh, that? Uh, that was nothing. Just a slight... weapons malfunction, that's it," Falco responded slowly. " But don't worry, we're okay now, we're- we're all fine here now... um, how are you?" Falco cringed at the last bit of the sentence.

"Well we're sending a squad of troops up, we don't want anything else to happen," said the man. Falco could almost smell the suspicion of the other man through the radio.

Falco blinked. "Oh, uh, negative sir, negative. There's a big fuel leak down here, ver large, very dangerous. I guess that weapons malfunction screwed something up–" he could hear the other man cursing on the other end of the line.

"Stars, first a weapons malfunction and now a fuel leak? Who is this, what's your service number?" the man on the radio asked.

Falco blinked. "Uh..." he said slowly. Then he raised his blaster and fired, frying the radio and half of the control panel. "Wasn't a very interesting conversation anyway," he muttered under his breath.

"Fox, hurry! There's troops coming!" Slippy called down the corridor, where Fox was examining the different cell numbers.

Fox blinked. B-11, B-12... B-13. This was it. He hurriedly punched in the access code, then rushed inside the prison cell.

The blue vixen inside, who was laying on a small cot, turned to look at Fox. "You seem a bit short for an imperial troop," she snickered.

Fox blinked. "What? Oh yeah, sorry," he said. He reached up and pulled the helmet off of his head. "My name's Fox McCloud, I'm here to rescue you," he declared, discarding the helmet. He doubted he would have any use for it anymore.

Krystal frowned. "You're who?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the cot.

"I'm here to fly you out of here, I have your android! Peppy Hare is with me!" Fox cried.

At the mention on Peppy, Krystal jumped to her feet immediately. "Peppy Hare? Where, where is he?" she cried excitedly.

"Follow me!" Fox said, leading Krystal out into the prison corridor. They both ducked back inside the cell as a laser beam from a blaster whizzed past their faces, singing their hair. Down at the end of the corridor, Falco and Slippy were retreating towards Fox and Krystal, firing wildly at shock troopers as they rushed out of the elevators.

Fox and Krystal met up with Falco and Slippy halfway down the prison corridor. "Okay, we rescued her. Got any ideas how to get out of here?" Falco shouted to Fox over the deafening noise of blaster fire colliding with the metal walls.

"Uh..." Fox said slowly, pressing himself against the wall and firing at more troops as they swarmed into the room.

"You mean you don't have an escape plan?" Krystal and Slippy shouted in unison.

"No," Fox admitted sheepishly.

"Oh, great. Nice going, kid," Falco said angrily, peeking out of cover to shoot at a daring group of troops trying to make their way down the corridor towards them.

Fox aimed to shoot at the troops with Falco, but Krystal wrenched his blaster out of his hands before he could pull the trigger. "Hey, that was my father's!" shouted Fox in protest.

Krystal didn't listed. She aimed at a grate in the wall and fired three shots into it, melting the metal. "_Someone_ has to take control of this excuse for a rescue party," she said angrily, tossing the blaster back to Fox.

"What are you doing?" asked Falco in alarm as Krystal began to climb into the quickly steepening tunnel through the grate.

"What does it look like? I'm saving your skin. Into the garbage chute, flyboy!" she said, sliding down the tunnel.

Falco scowled, then nodded at Slippy. "Go on, I'll cover you," he said. Slippy grimaced a the foul smell coming from the tunnel, but reluctantly slid in, Falco following right behind him.

Fox leapt out of cover, fired a few wild shots at the troops in the room, then dove headfirst down the garbage chute.

He slid down the grime-caked tunnel for a few seconds, twisting and spinning along with the chute. Soon the tube opened up into a wide, rectangular room with mud and filth caked at the bottom of it. Fox landed with a _splat_ beside Slippy, who was already covered in grime.

Falco stood up, wiping muck off of his shock trooper armor with disdain. "Well, great job _mistress_ Krystal. It appears you've gotten us out of one helluva problem, right into another helluva problem," he said.

"What do you mean, the exit's right there?" Fox asked, pointing at a hatch in the wall.

"It doesn't open, I tried already," said Slippy.

"It was better than waiting up there and getting fried by blaster fire," returned Krystal venomously, scowling at the bird.

"Woah!" Slippy cried suddenly.

"What, what is it?" asked Fox.

"The walls! Look, they're moving!" he cried. And it was true. Slowly and steadily, both walls seemed to be inching closer, squeezing the debris in the room into one, big pile. This was no simple garbage chute: it was a garbage masher.

The four of them scrambled to find heavy enough debris to prop the walls apart, while Fox reached for his radio and began signaling ROB.

"ROB! ROB, come in! ROB!" he shouted. There was no answer.

***

"Hey! I said open up in there!" shouted a voice from outside the control room door. Finally, the team of shock troopers outside managed to remotely unlock the door outside the control room overlooking the hangar. They rushed inside, blaster rifles raised, but found nothing.

"Help! Help!" cried a voice from the supply closet in the corner of the room. One of the troops hurried over and opened it to find three dead bodies and a "terrified" ROB inside. "They've headed for the detention facility on level seven, they're insane! You have to stop them!" ROB cried frantically.

The troops looked at each other, shrugged, then hurried off to find an elevator to take them to level seven. A relieved ROB hurried over to the control panel again, flipping on his built-in radio, which he had turned off in case Fox had tried to contact him while the troops were in the room.

The android was surprised to hear frantic screams and cries for help from the radio. "I'm sorry for the delay, young master Fox. Some troops tried to get inside, and I had to–"

"ROB, shut up and listen to me!" shouted Fox frantically. "Shut down all the garbage mashers on level three! Do you hear me?" he called.

"All of them?" ROB asked, leisurely plugging himself back into the computer.

"_Yes!_ We're inside one and it's _active_!" shouted Fox.

ROB blinked his optical receptors. "Oh," he said, beginning to move much quicker than before.

"Hurry!" Fox cried.

"One moment, young master Fox... there it is, I think! Young master Fox?" ROB asked into his own radio.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, then screams, and wild howling of those inside the garbage masher. ROB immediately wrenched himself out of the plug, gripping his head in horror. "Oh, they're _dying_! I wasn't fast enough!" ROB wailed.

But as he listened, the screams didn't seem to sound like screams of pain. Rather, they sounded more like... laughter.

***

"_What? Yes!_" Fox screamed as the walls stopped moving. They were perilously close together at that point, with no room at all to move. Fox's shoulders were squeezed between both metal walls, and Slippy looked as though his body were about to burst.

The other began screaming with joy, even jumping when the walls began moving apart again.

"We're okay, ROB! You did it!" Fox shouted, grinning as he saw Krystal throw her arms around Slippy happily.

"I... did?" ROB asked.

"Yeah, we're alright!" Fox laughed. Then he splashed through the sludge, hurrying over to the maintenance hatch in the wall. "Hey, ROB, open up level three garbage hatch... uh, 3-7709, can you do that?" he asked.

ROB, who was still apparently shaken up from the prospect of his owners being crushed in a large machine, said, "Yes, yes... of course, young master Fox."

A few seconds later the hatch popped open and Fox, Krystal, Falco, and Slippy all climbed out. Fox and Falco, whose armor was caked with sludge, decided they had no need for the disguise any longer and discarded the heavy armor plating in favor of their normal clothes- Fox's Katinan farmer's tunic and pants, and Falco's green jumpsuit and cream colored flight jacket. Both Fox and Falco decided to keep their trooper's utility belts, however.

"Well, unless our genius mistress here has any other escape plans, I think our best bet is to head towards the elevators and get down to the level one hangar," said Falco.

"We're already at level one, we just need to find our way to the hangar," said Krystal, scowling at Falco.

Fox shrugged, then contacted ROB again. "ROB, make your way down into the _Eagle_, we'll be there in a few minutes," he said. Then he turned to the others, holstered his blaster, and sighed. "Well, let's get moving," he suggested.

---------------

_Author's Note: _I liked writing this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, whoever is reading! And thanks again!


	10. Escape from the Flagship

Peppy quietly made his way through the corridors of the Venomian flagship, slipping through the shadows softly. When a shock troops came nearby, he slid as far as he could into a darkened area, almost becoming invisible.

The aging rabbit tiptoed his way into the large generator room, where a large, electromagnetic generator fed energy to the ship's tractor beam. After briefly examining the controls on a switchboard on the wall, Peppy eased a lever downward, lowering the energy output of the generator to practically nothing.

He suddenly became alert, as two shock troops entered the room. He quickly slipped down into the darkened floor below, where the generators were.

"I don't know. I heard it was some rogue troops or something. Whoever they were, they freed that girl from the detention center," said one of the shock troopers.

"Seriously? I heard it was the Cornerian rebels, but I'm not sure," said the other. They both walked past the control panel, still talking about the "rogue troops" onboard the ship. When their backs were turned, Peppy quickly hurried towards the door. When they began to turn around, he quickly took a small radio from his belt and tossed it to the opposite corner of the room.

"What was that?" asked one of the troops, bringing his blaster rifle up.

"I dunno," said the other. They both crept towards the sound while Peppy quickly and silently sprinted away.

***

Fox, Falco, Krystal, and Slippy all hurried down the corridor towards the hangar, grim looks on their faces. They had encountered no one yet, but they knew their luck would run out soon.

A small security robot wheeled past them on the floor. It stopped and tilted its square-shaped head up at Falco in suspicion, only to have its circuits fried by a blaster bolt.

"Can you be quiet, you'll attract attention!" hissed Krystal.

"We'll attract attention if that thing runs off to tell people we're here!" muttered Falco.

They rounded another corner, only to come face-to-face with four shock troopers. Fox, Krystal, Falco, and Slippy all stared at the troopers for a long moment.

"Wait a minute, you're the four from the detention center!" cried one of the troops suddenly.

_Blam!_ To everyone's surprise, Slippy was the quickest to bring his weapon up and shoot one of the soldiers. As the armored troop fell and Slippy took aim again, the remaining three turned and began to run.

Falco laughed. "Nice shot, frog boy! C'mon, let's see if we can finish 'em off before they alert the others!" he said. Still laughing, the blue bird dashed off in pursuit of the three troops, with Slippy reluctantly waddling after him as fast as he could.

"I'll hand it to him," said Krystal, nodding at Falco as he and Slippy disappeared around a corner, "he _is_ brave."

Fox snorted angrily at Falco's behavior. "Yeah, a lot of good bravery will do him when he's dead. Come on, let's go," he said, leading Krystal in the other direction.

Falco, shouting curses, laughing, and firing his blaster like a maniac, sprinted through the corridors after the three troops. "You'd better run, guys! Falco Lombardi is after you! Or are you too chicken to fight me?" he shouted. He slid around a corner and ran into yet another wide room. "Come on, fight me you sons of..."

Falco trailed off slowly. In the room were a dozen, perhaps two dozen imperial shock troopers, all laying in wait after being warned that Falco was coming by the other three. Falco took a few nervous steps backward, then raised his blaster and fired wildly into the crowd of soldiers before turning and running in the opposite direction, shouting, "Slippy, turn around! Run!"

Slippy, who was panting heavily by then, heard the shouts and blaster fire. After a while, smoke from blaster discharge began to pour into the corridor he was in, and he turned and began to run. After a few moments Falco caught up with him, caught him by the collar, and began dragging him along quicker.

Hearing the commotion from the corridor, Fox and Krystal turned around to see Falco come tearing around a corner, dragging Slippy along behind him. The troops followed them, shouting, "Close the blast doors, close them!" to an android controlling a set of blast doors. It obeyed quickly, but Falco and Slippy dove through them just before they clanged shut.

"Open the blast doors, open them!" shouted the pursuing troops to the android at the controls. "Hey!" one of them shouted, seeing Fox and Krystal staring at them.

Fox fired a few shots at the troops, then grabbed Krystal by the hand and began to run. They stopped at the end of the corridor, just past another metal door. They stood on the edge of a wide, black chasm stretching on for at least six meters. It was a bridge... but it wasn't extended.

Krystal shut the door behind them, then hurriedly looked at the controls. "I can't find a lock!" she cried.

Fox blinked. "Uh, here, stand back," he said. Krystal stood aside, and Fox blasted the controls. "There, that ought to hold them off for a little while," he said. Behind them he could hear the soldiers banging on the door, trying to open it.

"Where are the controls to the bridge?" asked Krystal.

Fox opened his mouth, then closed it slowly. "I think I just melted them," he said grimly.

Krystal frowned. "Then we have to find another way to get across!" she said.

Fox looked up at a large, thick power cable hanging from the ceiling and was suddenly struck with an idea. "Here, hold this," he said, handing his blaster rifle to Krystal. He tugged a long, yet thin metal utility cord from his belt, along with a heavy extra power cell for the blaster. Working quickly, he tied the cord tightly to the power cell and fastened the utility cord to his belt. He heaved the metal cord back, spinning it like a lasso, before letting it fly upwards towards the power cable. The power cell clanged harmlessly off the ceiling, inches from the power cable.

Behind them, the door began to get hot as the troops fired laser blast after searing laser blast into the metal.

"They're coming through!" shouted Krystal. Suddenly a troop poked his head out of another bridge door from the level above them. He aimed down at the two and began firing his own rifle, but Krystal quickly raised hers and shot him twice in the chest. The man screeched in pain and plummeted into the dark chasm below.

Fox swung the cord once again and tossed it into the air. No luck. He once again dragged it back in, hefted his arm back, and hurled it towards the power cable. _Clang!_ The power cell wrapped around the cable twice, dragged the battery back down, and wedged it tightly between the ceiling and the cable. Behind them, a small, red spot had appeared in the middle of the door and large drops of molten metal began to slide off it.

Fox tested the strength of the cable, then put an arm around Krystal's waist and gripped the wire with his other hand. Without warning, Krystal leaned forward and kissed Fox briefly on the mouth. Fox blinked at her curiously.

"For luck," Krystal explained.

Holding the wire tightly, Fox and Krystal swung forward, arcing across the black pit below them. As they landed on the other side of the bridge, the door on the side they were just standing on melted completely.

Fox pulled his father's blaster from his belt and blasted the wire away from his belt, then, shooting at the troops along with Krystal, retreated down the other corridor, heading closer and closer towards the hangar.

***

Peppy hurried down the corridor towards the hangar, his feet stepping ever so softly on the metal floor. He rounded one more corner, then stopped. He could see the open blast doors leading into the hangar only meters away, there was only one problem. Cain stood in the middle of the hallway, his energy sword already ignited.

"Peppy Hare," said the armored villain. "It's been some time since I've seen you."

Peppy stared grimly at Cain. He slowly reached for his blaster in his coat pocket, then drew his hand back. He would have no use for it. Instead, he slowly reached towards a small device on his belt. It was a wide, metal disk, much like a laser reflector, but has a short metal handgrip attached to the underside of it as well. A very old weapon that Cornerian pilots were given, in case they ever were shot down and crashed in enemy territory. It was no doubt what Cain's energy sword was fashioned after.

Peppy pressed a small button on the handgrip, and a thin, white blade leapt up from the disk on his own energy blade. It was slightly shorter than Cain's, but no less powerful.

"Ironic that the last time we battled, we used these very weapons?" asked Cain. "You defeated me and left me for dead. I you should have finished me off when you had the chance," he said.

"I'm not like you, Cain. I don't kill people if they're already defeated. It's called mercy," Peppy said, holding his energy sword out in front of him.

"Or foolishness," said Cain. He lunged towards Peppy, swinging at his neck. The old hare brought his own blade up, deflecting the strike.

The two circled each other, swinging, parrying, and sometimes even delivering punches and kicks to each other.

Cain slashed downward at Peppy, but had his energy blade parried aside. He spun aside to avoid a stab from Peppy, then swung his sizzling blade down at Peppy's skull.

Peppy spun around impossibly fast for someone of his age, angling his sword over his head and blocking Cain's sword. Sparks flew from their clashing blades as Peppy pushed Cain back, almost tripping his opponent.

Cain retaliated with fury, slamming his blade into Peppy's own and shoving him back so that they were fighting right in the entrance of the hangar blast doors. Cain snickered, seeing sweat on Peppy's brow. "You're weak, old man. You should have died quietly on some deserted planet when you had the chance," he hissed.

***

When Fox and Krystal arrived at the edges of the hangar that the _Eagle_ was in, they were relieved to find that Falco and Slippy were already there waiting for them.

"Geez, what took you two so long? We've been here for about twenty minutes!" cried Slippy.

"We ran into a little trouble," said Krystal grimly. "What's the situation here?"

"There's seven troops guarding the _Eagle_," explained Falco. "They don't seem very concentrated though. I think if they're distracted enough, we can blast them quickly and get out before they can stop us. If the tractor beam is down," he added.

"Wait, what about ROB?" asked Fox.

His question was answered almost immediately, as ROB came walking hurriedly towards the _Eagle_ from a corridor off to the side of the hangar. The troops took no notice of him as he entered the _Eagle_ and settled into the cockpit of the ship.

"Alright, looks like he made it there with no problem. Hopefully that old man is already onboard too," said Falco. "Okay, we pop out and shoot on the count of three. One... two..."

But before Falco could count to three, the troops surrounding the _Eagle_ all began dispersing, heading towards the main exit.

"Well will you look at that? Another stroke of luck," chuckled Falco. They quietly ran across the hangar towards the _Eagle_, ignoring what the shock troops were distracted by. All of them except Fox.

"Peppy?" Fox said softly, seeing the old rabbit locked in mortal combat with Cain in the entrance of the hangar.

Nobody seemed to hear him. None of the troops took notice, and Cain didn't take his eyes off Peppy. But Peppy seemed to hear the single word that Fox uttered.

Their energy swords still locked together, Peppy glanced briefly at Fox. Then he looked at Cain, a small smile on his face. Surprising everyone, even Cain, Peppy stepped backwards and deactivated his energy sword.

The instant it was off, Cain sprang forward and crashed his blade downward into Peppys head. It was over mercifully quickly for the veteran rabbit.

"_No!_" Fox screamed.

Falco, who was halfway up the entrance ramp to the _Eagle_, cursed loudly as the shock troops turned to face the four of them.

Furious, Fox raised his father's blaster and shot two of the soldiers dead immediately. He tried desperately to hit Cain with the weapon, but the armored villain deflected every blaster bolt with a flick of his energy sword.

Falco, Slippy, and Krystal killed three more of the troops, and the remaining two ran for cover. Cain slowly advanced on them like a black angel of death.

"Get the blast door, Fox!" Falco shouted.

Fox blinked. He raised his blaster and fired wildly at a switch on the wall, frying its circuits with two blasts of energy. The metal blast doors slammed shut inches from Cain's armored face. Seconds later, the tip of the energy sword began to slowly cut through the door.

Fox waited, holding the blaster out in front of him. He wanted to kill Cain, just like Cain had killed Peppy. But a shout of alarm from Krystal finally pulled him back to the _Eagle_. He rushed up the entry ramp just as Falco closed it. Outside the ship, a large chunk of the blast doors fell away, and Cain slowly marched inside.

"I hope that old man knocked out the tractor beam, or this is gonna be a real short trip," Falco said, activating the thrusters on the _Eagle_. The bulky freight ship lifted off the floor, turned towards the hangar exit, and blasted out into space, leaving Cain in the hangar alone.


	11. Preparing to Attack

The _Eagle_ soared away from the Venomian flagship, unhindered by the powered down tractor beam. In the cockpit, Falco was punching the coordinates to Fortuna into the hyperspeed computer. They didn't have much fuel left, but Falco reasoned that if they didn't tear through slipspace as fast as possible, they would make it in a pinch.

Fox sat glumly in one of the passenger seats in the cockpit. Krystal sat next to him trying to comfort him.

"There was nothing you could have done," she said. "He did it so that we could escape."

Fox sighed, staring at his blaster. "I just can't believe he's gone. He..." Fox trailed off. "He was like a father to me," he finished.

Falco blinked at a radar screen on the control panel of the _Eagle_. "Damn," he muttered. He turned to Krystal and Slippy. "Do either of you know how to fly a ship evasively?" he asked.

Slippy shrugged. "Kinda. I was good with imperial flight simulators back on Katina," he said.

"I do," said Krystal confidently.

Falco nodded at her. "Take the controls. Looks like we're not out of trouble just yet," he said.

"I can fly the ship, captain Falco," offered ROB.

"No, you keep punching in the coordinates to Fortuna. We may be able to make the jump into slipspace without even having to fight these things," said Falco.

"What things?" asked Slippy.

_Bam!_ A laser blast deflected by the upper shields on the _Eagle_ rocked the ship, and three Venomian starfighters zipped by the cockpit window quickly.

"Those," said Falco. He tapped Fox on the shoulder. "Come on, there's some gun turrets on the bottom of the ship. We may be able to pick them off quickly," he said.

"Give him a moment, will you?" said Krystal, strapping herself into the pilots seat.

But despite his loss, Fox had lost none of his fighting spirit. He got up and followed Falco down a ladder to the underbelly of the Eagle, which split into two separate tunnels going to both the port and starboard sides of the ship. At the end of each tunnel was a mounted laser turret.

Fox took the port side of the ship, Falco covering starboard. Both of them strapped themselves into the turret seats, took up the controls, and pulled a headset over their heads.

"You okay, buddy?" Falco asked Fox through the headset.

"Yeah, I'm fine," said Fox, flexing his fingers over the controls.

"Alright, stay sharp there," said the bird. He peered out into the inky blackness of space through a small blast window, looking for any sign of the small, needle-nosed Venomian spacecraft. Without any warning, a silver object zipped by the window. Falco pivoted the blaster cannon towards it and unleashed a burst of blaster fire from the turret, but was too late. The ship had already flown out of his view.

Krystal adjusted the deflector shields on the _Eagle_ so that they were protecting the rear of the ship, then twisted the ship into a tight barrel roll to avoid a laser bolt from a Venomian fighter.

Still infuriated over the death of Peppy, Fox fired rapidly at two of the fighters as they flew by his blast window. Every shot missed. _Relax_, a small voice in his head said. Fox blinked. Was he telling himself that? He couldn't tell. It seemed as though someone else were putting the words in his head.

Fox took a deep breath, releasing his tight hold on the controls of the turret. He closed his eyes, trying to sense where the starfighters were around the ship. Another blast made the _Eagle_ buck wildly. _Trust your instincts_, the voice said. Fox opened his eyes, swiftly brought the laser cannon up, and blasted the wind off a passing starfighter. It spun out of control for a few seconds, then exploded in a brilliant burst of color.

"I got one!" shouted Fox. "Falco, I got one!" he called into his headset.

"Great job Fox!" laughed Falco. "Don't get cocky though," he added.

"Strange to hear that coming from you," sniggered Fox. For that moment, his sadness seemed to be gone. He was just having fun back on Katina, shooting at meteors in a flight simulator. There was no pressure.

"We've almost lost our rear deflectors!" cried Krystal from the cockpit.

"Hang on..." said Falco slowly. Anticipating another fighter flyby, he opened fire with his turret and swung the cannon in a downward arc, punching a gigantic hole through another starfighter. "Yes!" he hissed, grinning as the fighter was blown apart.

"There's still one more out there!" cried Slippy from the cockpit.

"Captain Falco, coordinates to Fortuna are almost set. Should I begin charging the hyperspeed jets?" asked ROB through his built-in radio.

"Stars, _yeah!_" said Falco, blinking. "We need to get out of here!"

"Affirmative. Charging hyperspeed jets now," said ROB.

The single remaining ship darted frenetically around the _Eagle_, looping and twisting to avoid laser blasts, then firing its own into the hull of the freight ship.

"We lost our rear defectors! One more hit and we're done!" said Krystal, slamming the ship to the side to avoid having the _Eagle _be fried by another laser.

Fox and Falco concentrated as hard as possible, squinting out of their blast windows and firing as rapidly as they could at the slippery starfighter.

Falco clipped the left wing, sending it spinning out of control. The pilot was able to pull the ship back into control and swung around for another pass at the _Eagle_, but before it could fire, Fox swung his turret up and landed two large laser blasts into the underside of the fighter. The fuel chambers in the ship overheated, causing it to explode in a giant, pulsating fireball.

"We did it!" Fox cried, pulling his headset off and grinning. Falco did the same, re-steadied the turret, and headed back up to the cockpit. Fox soon followed after him, breathing a sigh of relief. In the cockpit, they found Krystal, Slippy, and ROB all rejoicing after yet another miraculous escape.

"You ready to go into slipspace, ROB?" asked Falco, sitting down in the pilots seat that Krystal had vacated.

"Just one moment... yes, captain, hyperspeed jets fully charged. Entering slipspace in five, four, three, two, one..." ROB activated the hyperspeed jets. Outside the cockpit window, the stars became elongated streaks, until suddenly everything stopped blurring by and turned into what appeared to a massive, neon green tunnel. "According to my calculations," said ROB, "we shall arrive at Fortuna just tomorrow morning. Mistress Krystal can direct us to the Cornerian rebellion's base once we are there."

***

To the untrained eye, the gargantuan temples built by ancient dinosaurs on Fortuna would have seemed cold and empty. However, if someone knew it was there, they would barely be able to see camouflaged power cables running between the temples, and armored men wearing expertly crafted gilly suits patrolling the area slowly. As Krystal directed Falco towards the temples, she activated the radio transmitter aboard the _Eagle's Eye_ and sent a ten digit code to one of the temples. There was a long moment of silence, then they received another code.

"We can land safely," said Krystal, relieved.

Falco eased the _Eagle_ down in a small clearing in the seemingly endless forests of Fortuna, right next to one of the temples. Cornerian rebels and officers alike approached the freight ship cautiously, blasters in hand. But as the entrance ramp was extended and Krystal stepped out, they all immediately lowered their weapons and saluted.

"At ease, soldiers," said Krystal, grinning up at the temples that had been turned into the base of the Cornerian rebellion. "Don't mind the others I'm with- treat them with honor, actually. They risked their lives to rescue me," she said, motioning to Fox, Falco, and Slippy as they came trotting down the entrance ramp, ROB hurrying behind them.

One of the officers gasped, seeing ROB. "You have him!" he cried. "I can't believe it! This may be our greatest victory yet!"

Krystal nodded, then solemnly added, "Peppy Hare came with us at first, but he sacrificed himself so that we could escape."

There was a moment of respectful silence for the veteran pilot. Some of the older officers, remembering Peppy in person, removed their helmets and covered their hearts. "So this isn't the happiest hour of hours. Peppy Hare would have been a great asset to us, and he will be missed. But we can't delay, the Andross Empire may be onto us at this moment," said the officer that had noticed ROB.

After being given the chance to rest themselves and repair and refuel the _Eagle_, Fox, Falco, and Slippy were lead into a large conference room by Krystal. There they found ROB plugged into a large computer, which was in turn attached to a large briefing monitor. In the room with them were at least three dozen rebel pilots.

"Are we all here? Good," said a middle-aged dog at the front of the briefing room. This was General Pepper, leader of the Cornerian rebellion. He turned and activated the computer ROB was attached to, and the monitor behind him flickered to life.

An image of a large, rectangular object with a flat area extending from the middle, dotted with lights and tiny radio antennae appeared on the screen. Slowly the image zoomed in until it took up the entire view of the monitor.

"This," began General Pepper, "is the Bolse defense satellite protecting the planet Venom. Until now, any attempts by us to invade Venom have been futile. The defense satellite has incredible weaponry mounted on its surface, and can destroy our fleet ships with little to no effort. We believe that a group of small, one-man fighters may be able to slip past the defenses and destroy Bolse."

A pilot in the crowd snickered. "How? One-man fighters would barely be able to scratch the surface on that thing," he said.

Pepper frowned at the pilot, who was a young weasel in his early thirties. "If you would let me continue, I would explain," he said. "It's true, the surface of Bolse is nigh impenetrable. However, after studying these readouts of the station, our team has discovered a tiny air vent in the surface of the station, just big enough for two small fighters to slip in side by side," Pepper said. He zeroed in on the image of Bolse until a tiny air vent became visible. "If it is blasted away, fighters can fly down through the air ducts meant to expel carbon monoxide from the station down to the core. The core is protected by a large, cylindrical blast shield, but a small, plasma expulsion duct is present, just large enough for a smart bomb fired by one of our Arwings to enter. If the hit is correct, the pilots have exactly three minutes to escape before the station explodes, leaving Venom completely open to our attacks. Now, we won't be able to attack Venom _immediately_, since a small group of one-man fighters stands almost no chance against the entire Venomian army, but it may take years for the Andross Empire to retaliate from a blow this big. We can stage an attack soon enough"

Pepper shut down the monitor, and ROB blinked back to life.

"Is everyone set on that?" Pepper asked. The pilots in the room looked skeptical, but Fox kept a look of sheer determination on his face. He, as well as Slippy, had offered to pilot two Arwing fighters in the attack, and Fox was dead-set on seeing this mission through to the end.

"Sounds like you're all gonna die," Fox heard Falco mutter under his breath. But Fox didn't care. He would make Peppy and James McCloud proud, wherever they were.

Hours later, they were all in the temple hangar, fueling and prepping their Arwings for takeoff. Fox, in his new green pilots jumpsuit, saw to the fueling of his new Arwing himself. He had just finished getting accustomed to the controls on the fighter when another figure approached him from behind.

"Long time no see, eh Fox McCloud?" asked Bill Grey, grinning at his old friend from Katina.

Fox turned around, grinning. "Bill! You made it here!" he cried.

"_I_ made it here? I'm surprised to see you in this hangar, kid!" Bill laughed.

"I guess we'll be up at Bolse together, huh? They won't be able to stop us!" said Fox.

"They never can," chuckled Bill. "I gotta get back to my ship, but I'll talk to you when this is all over, okay?"

"See you, Bill," said Fox, smiling. As the dog walked away, Fox caught sight of yet another figure in the hangar. After quickly making sure his Arwing was okay, Fox hurried over to Falco, who was heading outside towards the _Eagle_. "Falco!" said Fox, frowning. "Aren't you going to stay with us?"

Falco snorted. "Sorry, Fox, I actually plan on living to enjoy the money I earned," he said.

Fox frowned. "Come on, Falco. Look at all these terrified pilots. We need a good man like you on our side," he said in a low voice.

"Sorry kid. It ain't my fight," Falco said, shrugging.

Fox gritted his teeth in anger. "Alright then, I understand. You're just in it for the money. Well, I hope that when you get off this planet, you find something to really believe in," he said. With that he turned and began to storm off.

Falco sighed. "Hey, Fox," he said slowly. Fox turned around. Falco looked at him for a long moment. "Just trust you instincts out there. You'll be fine," he said at last.

Fox looked back at the smuggler bird, then nodded with that he turned and walked back to his Arwing. To his surprise, Krystal was waiting for him.

"I made sure you were given one of our best ships," Krystal said, smiling at Fox.

"Thanks," Fox said glumly, looking back at Falco as the bird walked out of the hangar.

"He'll be fine. He has to chose his own path, you know that," said Krystal.

"I know. I just... I just thought he'd changed, you know?" he asked. During the day they had traveled aboard the _Eagle_, Fox and Krystal had talked to each other a lot, and had become quite good friends in the short time they had known each other.

Krystal was about to answer when a siren began wailing in the hangar. The Arwings had to leave. Krystal looked back at Fox. "Good luck out there," she said.

"Thanks," Fox said. There was a moment of slight hesitation, then Krystal kissed Fox on the cheek and they both embraced briefly. "Bye," said Fox, climbing up into his Arwing.

He put on a small headset that wrapped around both sides, and slightly over the top of, his head. Then he sealed the cockpit shut, activated the microphone on his headset, and let a group of mechanics guide his Arwing out of the hangar along with the other fighters. Once out in the open, each of the Arwings began to take off one by one, flying up through the atmosphere and into space in a large pack.

"Set hyperspeed coordinates to planet Venom," Captain Malzar, the leader of the group, said.

"Setting hyperspeed coordinates to planet Venom," Fox confirmed into his headset along with Slippy and three dozen other pilots. There was a count of three, and every Arwing pilot activated their fighter's tiny hyperspeed jets, shooting forward and entering slipspace.

-------------------------

_Author's Note:_ Well, the next chapter is the last, and the space battle in it is the main reason I chose to write this story =)


	12. Triumph

The light of Solar glared off the sickly green cloud of gases surrounding the planet Venom. As dozens of tiny slipspace portals opened up miles away from the Bolse defense satellite, each pilot in each Arwing took a deep breath.

"This is it, boys," said captain Malzar. "All fighters report in."

"Gold seven, standing by," Fox heard a pilot say through his headset. Every pilot continued, reporting their squad color and number.

"Green three, standing by."

"Green nine, standing by."

Gold five, standing by."

"Red eleven, standing by..." the pilots continued on, Malzar listening intently for any pilot who wasn't there.

"Blue four, standing by," Fox heard Bill Grey report.

"Red eight, standing by."

"Blue two, standing by," Slippy said, adjusting the aiming sensitivity on his Arwing.

"Blue five, standing by," Fox called in.

Malzar nodded, seeing that everyone was present. "Lock stabilizers in free-maneuvering positions," he commanded the pilots. Slowly, the stabilizing wings on every Arwing were extended, revealing micro-jets on the inside of each wing that helped in evasive combat maneuvers. "The air duct is on the lower East side of the station, I repeat, lower east side," said Malzar.

The Arwings angled themselves downward once they reached Bolse, plunging towards the surface with their blaster cannons blazing. High powered defense batteries were manned from underneath the surface, blasting at nearby Arwings.

"Alright, red and blue squadrons, draw the battery fire away from Gold squadron. Green squadron, engage any enemy fighters that appear. Gold squadron, follow me to search for the air duct," Malzar said.

"Affirmative," said Fox, angling his Arwing across the surface of Bolse. "Alright, Bill, Slippy, follow me. Most of the batteries seem to be trying to keep Gold squadron away from that area about a mile down. That's gotta be where the air duct is."

"I'm with you, Fox," said Slippy, boosting his Arwing forward so that he was flanking Fox's left side. Bill followed suit.

Fox drove his Arwing into a steep dive towards the batteries, blasting at them with his own laser cannons. They turned away from Gold squadron and began firing torrents of blaster fire towards his Arwing, which Fox looped, spun, and barrel-rolled to avoid.

Slippy bravely swooped down over the batteries, blasting one apart with a burst of blaster fire. "Got it!" he laughed, flying back upwards. Unbeknownst to him, three of the batteries turned towards him and began charging their cannons. They were just about to shoot Slippy's Arwing down when Bill fired into them, blowing all three of them up.

"You better watch yourself Slippy. Those things can turn around, you know," he said.

"Oh... sorry guys. Thanks, Bill," said slippy sheepishly.

"Don't mention it."

Fox dove down towards the batteries again, furiously blasting laser burst after laser burst at them, trying to conjure up the awful memory of Cain slaying Peppy to fuel his rage. The batteries he was shooting at exploded, along with part of the surface of Bolse. Inside, one of the service corridors exploded, sending burning bodies and androids hurtling into space.

"Fox, pull up!" Bill cried.

Gripping the control yoke tightly, Fox pulled it back as hard as he could until he could feel the veins in his neck bulging with strain. The Arwing scraped the surface of Bolse briefly and passed through the white-hot flames caused by the explosion, but emerged from the smoke okay.

"You okay, Fox?" Slippy asked nervously.

"Yeah, I'm okay. My shields got a tad cooked, but my ship's fine," Fox said, laser-wiping a thin layer of soot off the windscreen of his Arwing.

Meanwhile, Gold squadron was making its way through the battery fire towards a small outlet on the surface of Bolse, where Captain Malzar had picked up strong carbon monoxide readings with his Arwing's scanner. Malzar barrel-rolled in front of one of his teammates, deflecting a laser back at one of the batteries and destroying it.

"Stay tight, fellas, we're going in," said Malzar, arcing his fighter into a dove towards the air duct. He fired three rapid laser bursts at the vent, but to his surprise, all of them were deflected. Malzar seemed confused for a moment, then his eyes widened. "Pull up!" he shouted, pulling his Arwing out of the dive quickly. "There's a shield there, pull up!" Malzar cried.

The other fighters followed him quickly, flying away from the vent. "What do we do now?" asked Gold seven, alarmed.

"There has to be some kind of deflector tower powering that shield," said Malzar. "Green team, get your asses over here, there aren't any fighters. Find the deflector tower powering this shield and destroy it!" he said.

The five Arwings in Green squadron turned and spiraled toward Gold squadron, beginning to scour the surface of Bolse for a large deflection tower powering the shield.

"There it is, I see it," said Green three. He led the other fighters towards a large, metal column rising from the surface of Bolse. All seven of the fighters in both Green and Gold squadrons opened fire on the base of the tower, blasting apart the metal paneling and wires, until finally the tower collapsed into the station.

"Thanks for the assistance, Green squadron," said Malzar. Then a small blip on his radar screen made him frown. "Looks like you better get back up there, Greens, Venomian fighters are inbound," said the grizzled old captain.

Sure enough, five dozen Venomian fighters came swooping down onto the scene, blasting at the Arwings with their twin laser cannons. After the escape of the _Eagle's Eye_ from the Venomian flagship, Captain White had hastily returned to Bolse to inform the personnel of a possible attack, bringing all of his fighters and pilots with him. With White came Cain, bringing his very own, customized starfighter to the battle.

"Alright, _now_ we can take care of this," said Captain Malzar, once again plunging towards the air duct. He and the other members of Gold squadron sank half a dozen blaster bolts into the air vent, blowing it apart. They flew into the air ducts speedily, soaring into the tight tunnel in single file. Soon, other tunnels began branching out from the main one, and the main tunnel widened until Malzar could fly side-by-side with Gold five.

"Almost there," said Malzar, reaching up to a button on his headset. Before he could press it, however, three Venomian fighters came hurtling out of the side tunnels, following closely behind the three Arwings of Gold squadron.

One of the Venomian fighters fired two quick shots, immediately disabling one of Gold seven's stabilizing wings. With a howl of dismay, the pilot's Arwing smashed into the bottom of the tunnel and exploded.

"Evasive maneuvers, Gold five! We have to reach the core!" shouted Malzar. Both Gold five and Malzar flew erratically from side to side in the tunnel, desperately trying to avoid being shot down by the Venomian fighters.

The leader of the Venomian starfighters had a ship that looked slightly different from the others. It was smaller and sleeker, but no less deadly. The pilot of this ship was none other than Cain. Anticipating the movements of Gold five, Cain depressed the firing button on his control yoke, blowing apart the engine of Gold five's Arwing. The fighter immediately burst into flames, tearing itself apart with explosions.

Breathing heavily, Malzar pressed the button on the side of his headset, extending a green scouter over his right eye. Still jerking his fighter around the tunnel wildly, Malzar targeted a large cylinder that he was quickly approaching: the shield of the core. A small, red circle appeared through the scouter, marking the plasma vent, and Malzar released his smart bomb, letting it fly towards the cylinder. "Smart bomb away!" he cried joyfully.

He turned his fighter and began flying down a different tunnel, hoping to escape that way. He turned back to look at the cylinder, but to his dismay there was a large explosion on the outside of its armored surface. "Negative," he reported into his headset. "It didn't go in." That was the last thing he managed to say before Cain's fighter blasted his out of the air.

Over the surface of Bolse, things weren't going much better either. Green squadron was almost wiped out by the onslaught of Venomian fighters, the last of the Greens preferring to fill in the vacant fourth position in Red squadron than go it alone.

"Fox," Fox heard Bill say frightfully into his headset, "Malzar and Gold squadron are finished. You're the only squad captain left here. What do we do?" he asked.

Fox gritted his teeth. "Red squadron, you do your best to survive out here. Draw as many Venomian fighters as you can away from the air duct. Bill, Slippy," Fox took a deep breath before continuing, "let's close it up. We're going into the core," he said.

Red squadron obeyed, blasting at any Venomian fighters that attempted to follow Blue squadron as they entered the air ducts. "Stay sharp," Bill said. "There were fighters waiting for Gold squadron, their probably still waiting for us."

Fox led Slippy and Bill through the tunnels warily, watching for any signs of fighters. "Closing in on target: two thousand meters to go," said Slippy.

"Bill, Slippy, stay far behind me. If those fighters get between us, you may be able to blast them," he said.

"Sure, okay," said Bill. But before either he or Slippy could make a move, the three Venomian starfighters came out of nowhere, their laser cannons blazing.

Fox cursed and pointed the nose of his Arwing down to avoid getting blasted. Behind him, neither Slippy or Bill seemed to be faring very well.

One of the Venomian fighters clipped the side of Slippy's Arwing. It wasn't much, but Slippy began getting readouts of fuel draining from his ship. "Agh! I'm hit, guys. I don't know if I can stay with you," said Slippy, struggling to maintain control of his Arwing. "I'll try to–"

"No, Slippy. Just get back to the base, if you stay you may not be able to make the jump through slipspace," said Fox, grimacing at the loss.

"Sorry," mumbled Slippy wholeheartedly he turned into another side tunnel, trying to find his way back up to the surface to blast back to Fortuna.

"Let him go, stay with these two," commanded Cain to the two fighters flanking him as Slippy flew off. He lined up his sights with Bill's fighter.

Fox pressed the button on the side of his headset to extend his scouter. One thousand meters left to go.

"Hurry up Fox!" Bill said, panicking.

"Almost there, just hang tight there Bill!"

"No, I can't- Ahh!" Fox heard Bill scream through his headset, then the radio shorted out.

"Bill?" he asked. Then louder, "Bill!" But there was no answer. Gritting his teeth in fury at the loss of yet another loved one, Fox concentrated on reaching the core of Bolse. Eight hundred meters to go.

Cain fired at Fox's Arwing numerous times, but he couldn't get a clear shot. Fox was too quick. "I see this one has real talent," said Cain, grinning behind his helmet. "You two, stay behind me. I want to take him," he commanded the other pilots harshly.

"Yessir," they responded, falling back.

Cain nudged the crosshairs on his targeting computer closer to the rear of Fox's Arwing. There was a brief moment of slipperiness where the computer wouldn't lock on, but then it did. "I've got you now," chuckled Cain, his finger hovering over the firing button on his ship.

Suddenly, a huge, dark shadow swept over them, obscuring the dim lights of the tunnel briefly. With a curse of frustration, Cain glanced up, along with the other Venomian pilots, to see a blue and red painted freight ship come hurtling at them out of one of the tunnels branching off from the main one.

It was crazy. No logical person would ever try a maneuver like that with a ship that size, especially in the cramped quarters that they were in. The pilot had to either be asleep, drunk, or insane.

But the fact was, the pilot wasn't any of these things: he was wide awake, more or less, and straight sober as well. Nor was he insane (well, perhaps slightly touched), but he was flying straight towards them anyway.

"Look out!" one of the Venomian pilots screeched, trying to pull out of the group of three fighters. He accidentally snagged the stabilizing wing of Cain's fighter, sending it spinning out of control.

It ricocheted off the walls of the tunnel, bouncing into a side tunnel and almost all the way back up to the surface of Bolse. Cain was somehow able to regain control of the fighter and began heading back towards the core, but then turned around and began to soar out away from Bolse as quickly as he could, flying towards Venom- he had a bad feeling that Bolse was doomed.

Back in the tunnel, the final Venomian starfighter lingered for a moment in uncertainty, then broke off into a side tunnel after realizing that the odds were stacked against him.

Fox blinked in amazement. Had some guardian angel come to save him? Or was it Peppy or his father returning from the grave to save his life? He soon realized that it was neither, and a grin began to spread across his face after recognizing the paint job on the freighter, and the familiar flashiness that the pilot expressed while flying.

Falco whooped loudly into his headset from the cockpit of the _Eagle's Eye_, pumping one fist up and down in the air. "_Yeah!_ That's how Falco Lombardi does it!" Falco laughed. He leaned back in the pilots chair, acting if their work was done. "Well it looks like your all clear, Fox. Let's blow this thing so we can go home, huh?" he asked.

Fox grinned at the bird, then looked back towards the cylindrical blast shield surrounding the core. It wasn't over yet. He peered through the scouter over his right eye, waiting for the red circle marking the plasma vent to appear. Suddenly he hesitated.

_Trust your instincts_, the voice that had whispered to him during their escape from the flagship said. _Your father could do it. So can you_.

Fox wrestled with his own feelings for a moment. He only had one shot at this- did he really trust himself enough?

"What's wrong?" asked Falco.

Fox blinked, then shoved the scouter away from his face. "Nothing," he said. "I'm... I'm alright. I'm relaxed."

Fox closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying not to _see_ where the plasma vent was, but to feel its presence. And suddenly, as though there was a built-in scouter in his mind, he _did_ see it, clearer than any scouter could mark it. He aimed the smart bomb briefly, then let it fly.

There was a brief moment of tension, and then Fox opened his eyes. The bomb went in.

"_Yes!_" Falco shouted. "Well, I don't wanna spoil your victory, but we should really get outta here before the fireworks start," he said to Fox.

Five minutes later, Fox and Falco were leading the six remaining Arwings away from Bolse. They all entered slipspace simultaneously, just before Bolse exploded in a shower of flames and sparks. The Cornerian rebellion had triumphed.

***

__

One Day Later...

It was completely silent in the rebel base on Fortuna. Not a soul was wandering in the hallways, be they living or robotic. Everyone was gathered in the great hall of the temple, standing and facing the front of the room. There were two groups of people in the room, with a narrow aisle between them for two figures to walk down. At the moment, these two figures were standing outside the door of the great hall.

"You nervous?" Falco asked Fox.

Fox was no longer garbed in his rugged farm tunic, but a green rebel jumpsuit, polished combat boots, and a cream colored flight jacket with a red scarf around his neck. Falco was dressed in his normal brown trousers, white flight boots, and flight jacket, all of the clothes pressed and ironed neatly.

Fox blinked at his friend. "No..." he said slowly. "Well, yeah, kinda," he admitted after a moment.

"It's okay, I am too," said Falco. Then he frowned. "What foot do we start on when the doors open?" he asked.

"I don't think it matters."

"Seriously? I thought they told us to–"

Before Falco could finish, the thick metal doors in front of them slid open and rebel soldiers began blaring triumphant celebration music with golden trumpets. As quickly and diplomatically as possible, Falco and Fox marched down the aisle between the two groups of people, trying to contain their smiles as every man and woman they passed saluted them.

As they stepped up to the front of the room, Fox saw four figures waiting for them. The first was General Pepper, who firmly shook both Falco and Fox's hands and grinned at them. The second was Slippy, clothed in a freshly cleaned, yellow mechanic's outfit and standing next to the third figure: ROB. The android had been polished and oiled the entire morning, and was so shiny that Fox could see his own face in ROBs chest plate.

The fourth figure was Krystal, dressed in a blue, Cerinian ceremonial gown and holding two medallions emblazoned with the glittering, fox-shaped symbol of the Cornerian rebellion.

Standing in front of the crowd of rebels, both Fox and Falco bowed down, receiving their medallions over their necks. As they looked back up to the crowd, the rebels broke their stiff composure, cheering and clapping for the two heroes wildly. Both Fox and Falco grinned from ear to ear, and out of the corner of his eye, Fox saw ROB turn to Slippy and begin squeezing the toad in a massive bearhug.

Fox laughed out loud, then looked at Krystal. She was smiling at him.

Still smiling softly, Fox looked up towards the glittering lights in the ceiling, remembering how he once looked up wishfully at the stars from Katina. And then the voice spoke to him once more, and he finally recognized it as Peppy's.

_Your father would be proud, Fox. Your father would be proud._

THE END

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_Author's Note: _Well thanks everyone for reading! It may take a while to get them up, but I am planning on making a Star Fox-ized version of "The Empire Strikes Back" too. Again, thanks!


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